Expect the Unexpected
by hayleynymphadora
Summary: A story of Shelby Corcoran and Cassandra July. They've known each other since before college, and are only just reunited by none other than Little Miss David Schwimmer herself, to her distaste. Rachel thought her mother would hate her teacher just as much as Rach did, but what's with the friendship that she doesn't know about? Will it lead to something more, still unknown to her?
1. Don't Be Such a Bitch, Cassie

**Hello readers! **

**Well, I was thinking (as I so often do...) and I started wondering what Shelby and Cassandra's story would be like. Or, at least, what a story of theirs could be perceived as, so I took a stab at it.**

**Takes place in season 4 of glee, A/U in the fact that Cassandra and Shelby have known each other since before college, and the fact that Shelby didn't adopt Beth, though she had the ability to (that will all be revealed later on in the story). So, kick back, relax, have a seat, grab some popcorn, and I hope you enjoy my story!**

**Reviews are encouraged-they help me so much, and i'm always forever thankful for them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee, for if I did, it would be mostly Shelby, Cassandra, Rachel, Santana, Kurt, and Blaine. **

**~~hayleynymphadora**

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Chapter 1: Don't be Such a Bitch, Cassie

Shelby Corcoran let out a soft sigh as she dragged herself out of bed, very early in the morning. Yes, she was used to having to get up for work, but six a.m was ridiculous, especially for a dance class, and on a Saturday! Who was up and ready to go with that much energy by six thirty? NYADA was pretty tough, she supposed, and Rachel was lucky that her mother still cared about her enough to go with her to her class. Technically, all Shelby had to do was sit in and watch, for moral support. Rach had been dying to introduce Shelby to her dance instructor, who apparently was a hard ass.

Every time Rachel told Shelby some horrible story about her teacher, (whom Rachel usually referred to as her "Mortal Enemy") she insisted that Shelby had to know the woman to fully understand her obscenity. Half-heartedly, and mostly out of reason that Rachel wouldn't give up until Shelby looked in on a class, Shelby agreed.

Stifling a yawn, Shelby threw open her closet to find something to wear. What was one supposed to wear when going to a NYADA dance class, even if only just to watch? Especially if said dance class's teacher was so easy to judge people? She was too tired to care at this point, and realized that the only thing that was going to keep her looking alive was a large cup of coffee, so she shuffled to the kitchen to make one.

She cringed at the loud sound of the coffeemaker, half tempted to cover her ears. Everything seems loud, and annoyingly so when you're too out of it to function.

Once the coffee was halfway gone, she attempted to find an outfit again, panicking now that it was twenty till and she wasn't even close to being ready. Eventually, five minutes later, she decided to go with something simple and Shelby-casual. This of course meant looking professional without over-doing it, as she slipped on her knee-length black skirt, blank tank-top, and long sleeved full-lace over shirt. A simple silver chain necklace worked very well with her attire, so she put in on, fumbling with the latch.

At approximately 6:20 she was completely ready to go, and after applying a last touch of make up and slipping on heels, she grabbed her purse and stalked out the door, shoulders back, chin up, and trying to look at least half-way presentable.

When she made it to the dance room, she spotted Rachel immediately. Rach was taking off her jacket and laying her bag in the corner on a bench. Shelby made her way towards her daughter and greeted her with a smile, placing her own purse next to Rachel's bag.

Across the room, Shelby spotted the person who must be Rachel's instructor. She wasn't facing Rachel and Shelby, but her hair was long and blonde, '_very pretty, too_,' Shelby wasn't hesitant to add in her mind. The teacher was dressed in a black leotard, an over skirt accompanying it, her long white legs showing through fish-net stockings underneath. Shelby smirked to herself, thankful that she wasn't over or underdressed.

. . . .

Rachel glared at Her Mortal Enemy. She couldn't believe her mother didn't hate her automatically, just by looking at the woman's hair. Ms. July's hair was_ too_ perfect, and it made Rachel jealously irritated, in which case, Rachel felt it was necessary that Shelby be irritated about it, too.

When Rachel had asked Ms. July's permission to let her mother watch in on the class a week ago, The Monster had replied mockingly,

"Aw, has Little Miss David Schwimmer been complaining to Mommy? Is Mommy upset now?"

To which Rachel had answered, with a forced smile on her face,

"She's just anxious to meet you; I've told her so much about you, Ms. July."

Ms. July had rolled her eyes, muttering an, "I'm sure you have, Ohio. Let her watch, by all means, but don't expect me to be cordial with her."

"Why would I ever?" was Rachel's innocently scathing response, before she returned to practicing her pirouettes.

Now Shelby was here, in the classroom, and Rachel was starting to think this was a bad idea. Sure, Shelby would finally get to see what Rachel meant about how evil her teacher was, but now her own mother was open to her instructor's ridicule, and Rachel wasn't sure that Shelby deserved that.

Ms. July advanced towards the mother and daughter, and Rachel recognized that she was too late to be having second-thoughts. It was happening whether she willed it to or not.

. . . .

"Cassandra July," Shelby's eyebrows were raised, but she spoke with a tone of finality. "I should have known, the way my daughter was talking about her teacher, that it had to be you."

"Shelby Corcoran," Cassandra's expression was laughable, but Rachel dared not to tempt it. "Schwimmer is _your_ daughter? With the resemblance, you'd think I'd have guessed." Her lips curled up into a grim smile as she eyed Shelby's outfit and body in approval. "It's been too long. Aren't you supposed to have made something of yourself by now? Wasn't that always your plan?"

Shelby's expression turned a little puzzled, what had Cassie called Rachel? But it wasn't really important. Not at this moment, anyways. Students started to gather around the three women, as class was supposed to get started, but Cassandra was too immersed in the conversation she was having with her old friend.

"I could say the same for you," Shelby responded to Cassandra's condescending tone.

"Me? Honey, I'm a dance instructor at NYADA, the school that turned you down. Tell me, Shelbs, what have you actually accomplished?"

Shelby laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, Cassie. I've only won six national championships coaching Vocal Adrenaline, and a second place award the year afterwards."

Cassie grimaced, clicking her tongue. "Second place? And you, Shelby Corcoran, settled for that? I can't say _you_ haven't changed…"

"Start your class, Cassandra; we'll talk about who's a failure at life and who isn't once it's over, alright?"

"It's a deal with me if it's alright with Schwimmer, Shelbs." She turned to her students, "What the hell do you think you're staring at? Grab a partner and start the Tango!"

Rachel shuffled to her corner, confused and irritated as the music started to blare through the sound system. Of course Ms. July would have them all Tango on the day her mother came to watch. Ms. July refused to ever let Rachel Tango, claiming that Rachel didn't have the sex appeal for it. Cassandra spotted her old best friend's daughter making her way to her corner and motioned for her to join the rest of the class.

"Not this time, Ohio. Snag a guy and show off to your mother, but do NOT disappoint me, got it?"

Rachel nodded feverishly and took the willing hand of a boy she didn't really know or care to know, never taking her eyes off of her mother. Why didn't Shelby ever tell her that she already knew Cassandra July? Thinking back on all of the conversations Rachel had with her mother, she realized she probably never mentioned her dance instructor's name, to her disdain.

Shelby watched, amused, as Cassandra seductively swayed her hips to the music, walking around the room and clapping her hands to the beat, examining everyone's work. "You're all sloppy! Straighten up and dance sexier! That's what the Tango is all about: I've said it too many times to have to repeat myself again!"

Cassie's outfit did wonders for her body; something Shelby had always been admittedly envious of. When the Tango ended, Cassandra snapped out, "Get into groups, choreograph a Tango number, I want to see it performed and done excruciatingly well by next Thursday without complaint. Weston, get your talented little ass away from Schwimmer's group, you don't belong over there and you know it plain as day."

The boy named Brody Weston briskly changed directions, heading towards a different bunch of people, much to Rachel's apparent disapproval, Shelby couldn't help but notice. Rach seemed to have a pretty big crush on the kid, and it was obviously noticeable to both her mother and her teacher; something that Cassandra was quite happily using to her advantage.

Since the class still had another half hour, the students started chatting and working on their numbers right away, meanwhile Cassandra walked over to where Shelby was leaning up against the wall, watching intently.

"So how have you really been, Shelbs? You're looking a little rough."

"No rougher than you, really. You should try to lay off on the bitch-mode for a while, though; you're freaking out my daughter."

"Is that all you came to tell me? That Ohio is being pushed to her limits? I could've told you that…" Cassie's smile was devilish and familiar. How Shelby missed that smile of hers.

"I came because she told me, and I quote, "Mom, you have to meet The Monster to fully understand how horrible she is, I can't just explain it to you,"."

Cassandra choked back a laugh, and Shelby joined her.

"Thus," Shelby concluded, "I'm here."

"I can't say I'm upset that you came to see me, Shelbs, but I can't say I'm happy either."

"Of course you can't, otherwise I would think you're sick or something," Shelby rolled her eyes mockingly. "You and I should go out sometime. Or else you can come over to my apartment so we can catch up."

"Yeah, I might work it into my schedule,"

Shelby grabbed Cassandra by the hand and wrote her number on it in black sharpie. "Well, when you figure your schedule out, Miss I've-always-been-better-than-you, let me know,"

Cassie was tempted to hug Shelby and tell her just how much she had missed her best friend over the years, but thought better of it, remembering that there were students still in her classroom who weren't aware that their teacher wasn't allergic to the whole spectrum of human emotion. "I will," she promised.

Rachel glared with disgust.

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**Thanks again, and don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts! :)**

**~~hayleynymphadora**


	2. Hey, Babe, That's What Friends are For

**Annnnnd we have another chapter! :)**

**The last comment, from the Guest: All I have to say to you is read this chapter; i think it clears up your comment. :) lol**

**I'm quite proud of this story so far. I hope you all like it!**

**Tell me what you think!**

**xo ~hayleynymphadora**

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Chapter 2: Hey, Babe, That's What Friends are For.

"You could've at least told me you knew her! I can't believe you're friends with that _woman_!" Rachel had a dramatic panic attack the second she walked through the door of Shelby's apartment, after her dance class was over.

Shelby shook her head calmly, sitting down on the couch and watching her daughter pace back and forth in front of her. "You never told me your instructor was Cassie, Rach, you can't expect me to be—"

"Cassie?" Rachel spat, clearly annoyed beyond compare. "She's brainwashed you, Mom. I swear to it, the woman is the Devil."

"You don't know her like I do, Rachel," Shelby argued, her eyes following Rachel as she fumed. "Besides, she's only hard on you because she knows how good you are. That's just the kind of person she is."

"She calls me Little Miss David Schwimmer, Mom, and apparently I don't have enough sex appeal to dance the freaking Tango." Rachel rolled her eyes and continued to pace. "How did you two even meet?!"

Shelby shrugged and took a drink from a glass of tea she had sitting on the table in front of her. "We met after graduating high school. Just before I had you and came to New York."

"And you're friends with her?"

"We were best friends, Rach. We told each other everything. Constantly made fun of each other, and apparently we still do, but that's just how our friendship works. We're too alike to not get along, but that means we also clash a lot."

"Oh, no." Rachel stopped right in front of her mother, looking so seriously pissed that Shelby couldn't help but suppress a grin. "You are NOTHING like The Monster."

Deciding she had had enough of Rachel's dramatics for one hour at least, Shelby stood and walked to her kitchen to refill her glass of tea. "We're more alike than you think," she called to Rach, who had stayed put in the living room, frozen to the living room floor. "Don't worry about it, Rachel. You're making a big deal out of nothing."

"I learned from the best," she practically growled. "I'll see you later, unless you're too busy catching up with my teacher to care."

With that, Rachel did one of her famously stolen-from-Shelby storm outs, slamming the apartment door behind her as she left. Sighing loudly, Shelby walked over to her sound system and turned it on, Barbra Streisand playing softly through the speakers, soothing her growing headache. Barbra just seemed to make the world a better place.

Shelby then realized, with some annoyance at herself, that though she had given Cassie her phone number, she hadn't gotten Cassie's in return.

"Stupid," she said aloud to herself. "Think a little next time, Shelby, now you have to wait for her to call you! It's not like you have anything better to do!"

Her phone rang a few hours later, and she answered it with high hopes.

"Hey, Shelbs, it's Cass. Mind telling me where the hell you live? It's not like you have anything better to do…"

Shelby couldn't help but grin.

. . . .

"So where'd you come up with the name "Rachel"?" Cassandra asked as they lounged in Shelby's living room, drinking wine.

Finishing a sip, Shelby swallowed and answered, "I didn't, her dads did. They were big Friends fans, or so she says."

With a tilting head of approval, Cassandra finished her glass of wine and Shelby poured her another. "She's a good student," Cass admitted. "But don't you dare tell her I said any of this, or she'll lose her edge. She's got great potential, and she really isn't a bad dancer."

"And the sex appeal of my Little Miss David Schwimmer?" Shelby had to laugh as she asked.

"She told you all about me, huh?" Cassandra winked.

"Only the best things, clearly," Shelby retorted.

"Oh, she has a great sex appeal, considering she looks just like you,"

At this, Shelby blushed.

"I'm only being so hard on her because she's so good." Cass finished, taking another sip of wine that was more like a drink.

"I know that, but she doesn't. It's killing her and she hates you. She thinks you're the Wickedest Witch in all of Oz, and I'm not talking about Elphaba in Wicked, so congratulations for getting what you wanted, but back off now, alright? Before she does something drastic…"

Cassandra gave her friend a look so condescending that Shelby had to fight the urge to shoot one back. "You really haven't seen me in a while, have you, Shelbs? There's no way in hell I'm going to stop altogether. I might let up a little bit, but Ohio's tough, she can take it. If she can't then she doesn't belong on Broadway to begin with."

There was no point arguing about it anymore, Shelby concluded. The Monster had spoken. After a silence between the two, Shelby spoke up again. "So is that really all you've been up to for nineteen years? A dance instructor at NYADA?"

Cass scoffed. "All that talk coming from a show choir coach-"

"Hey, at least I won-"

"Six national championships," Cassie mocked with her hands in the air, waving them around with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Oh boy, how exciting, the great Shelby Corcoran got to make a few teenagers cry."

Shelby closed her eyes and shook her head. "God, I've missed your kindness. But your job is just about as exciting as mine was, so why don't you spill what you've been achieving? Hmm?"

Cassandra knocked back the end of her wine and her expression turned a bit grave. "I failed on Broadway, Shelby, I'm sure you've heard the stories. I'm the Biggest Train-wreck in Broadway History or some shit like that…" she shook her head. "My career was finished from the word "go". But enough about me. Shouldn't a hot piece of ass like you be married with kids by now?"

Now Shelby was the one with a grave expression. "I've had a few make-out sessions and a couple of relationships that meant nothing to me. After Rachel, there were some complications and some surgery, and now I can't have anymore kids. Not that I really want to—I had my chance, and now it's gone. I had another chance, to adopt the baby girl of two of Rachel's friends who mad a mistake, but I didn't deserve her. Anyways, all I have to show for my motherly life is a nineteen year old daughter who wasn't even raised by me." She quickly noted her tone then continued, amending herself. "Don't get me wrong, I love her to death and would do anything for her. I just wish…"

"Don't hurt yourself, Shelbs, I get it." Cassandra said.

Thankful that she did, Shelby nodded and enveloped into a silence, staring at the floor.

"Try not to be so morbid, Corcoran, or I might not bother coming back," Cass spoke up finally.

Shelby smirked, knowing that the only way for Cassandra to escape her pain was to shove it all away, and never talk much about it. Shelby considered herself lucky, really, that she had gotten Cass to talk so much about her past tonight, and recognized to drop it now, before she lost her friend again.

"You should really come to class more often," Cass invited. "I've never seen Schwimmer work her talented little butt so hard." She finished her sentence with an impressed laugh, and Shelby shrugged, replying,

"Rachel just seems to work better under pressure. She was used to getting constantly put down and having to show people up—your class isn't anything new to her, really."

Cass shook her head, mockingly holding her hand over her heart as she did so.

"That hurt, Corcoran," she said sarcastically.

Shelby leaned back on the couch and pulled her legs into her, wrapping her arms around them comfortably, before saying,

"She's very pissed at me, by the way," with a scoff.

"Oh, really?" Cass's eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Yeah, no thanks to you,"

Cassandra's willing arm reached for the wine bottle on the table in front of her, but Shelby's eyes pleaded, strictly and silently—a "no" without words. Slowly, Cass retreated from the bottle. Only Shelbs could get her to back off from something she really wanted, for Shelbs was the only one brave enough to know how to and act out on it.

Quickly, Cassandra covered herself by changing the subject. "So you said something about boyfriends or make-out partners who meant nothing to you?"

In an answer, Shelby gave a nod.

"What was wrong with them? Not hot enough for you?"

"Oh, they were plenty hot, Cass. There's not a doubt in my mind that you would've tried to sabotage us so you could have them all to yourself."

There was most definitely a doubt in Cassandra's mind, and it spun with hilarity, relishing in the fact that for once, Shelby was only half right about something. Yes, she would sabotage the relationships, but if Shelby thought for one second it was so Cass could have the boys…

She shook the thought out of her mind, "What was their problem, then, Shell?"

Shelby shrugged, her beautiful green eyes glimmering with…was that seduction that Cass saw, or was she only hoping too hard?

"I don't know," Shelby's voice was low and gorgeous. "They just weren't right for me, I guess."

_'I'll bet it was 'cause they were all guys,'_ Cass thought to herself.

"What?" Shelby seemed confused.

_'Shit! Did I say that out loud?! Shelbs was right to stop me from drinking any more…'_

"Nothing, babe, it's just that men are tools, you know? Who really needs them, anyways?"

_'Nice save, hun,'_ Shelby thought. _'But I know what you were insinuating, and I don't exactly disagree, either.'_Shelby's own thoughts sort of startled her—she had never been attracted to a woman before…

She watched as Cassandra pulled her long blonde hair out of a dancer's bun, shaking it so it was draped over her shoulders, and bit back the urge to play with the pretty locks.

Cass turned her head to check the clock and groaned. "Mind if I crash here, Shelbs? It's two thirty and I don't see myself making it home tonight."

She had to laugh, Shelby. Nothing had changed really, since their college years. Shelby probably couldn't even count how many times Cass had passed out, drunk if not buzzed, in Shelby's dorm room.

"Of course—there's no way I'd trust you out in New York this late in the state you're in…"

"You referring to my state of sexiness, Corcoran?" she winked, standing up to stretch and Shelby felt a tingling shiver run through her body, though she tried to hide it, and thankfully succeeded, to her knowledge.

"Exactly, July, you'll have people thinking you're a prostitute." Shelby stood too, and took the wine glasses out into the kitchen. She was followed by Cass.

"You opposed to me getting laid?" Cass joked.

_'Only if it's not by me,'_Shelby's eyes widened in shock at herself. Why was she having such thoughts about her old best friend?! She blamed it on the wine, and gave a shuddering yawn.

"Alright, I'm done." She declared. "You take the bed, I'll crash on the couch—"she started to head back towards the living room, when Cass grabbed her by the shirt, dragging her back.

"Oh hell no, Corcoran," Cassandra ignored the fact that Shelbs had never actually answered her question. "I didn't come here to steal your bed and make you suffer. Well…I might have come to make you suffer. But we'll both fit on your bed, if you insist that I stay there at all."

Before Shelby could control herself, she said, "I _do_ insist."

"Then we can learn to share—sharing is caring or some shit, right?"

Shelby had to laugh. "Something like that. You want something to wear?" they entered Shelby's bedroom and Shell crawled into bed, Cass close behind her.

"Nah, yoga pants are so bad ass—you can wear them any time of day."

"Ha. Okay. Goodnight, Cass."

"'night, Shelbs."

But Shelby didn't fall asleep for a while—she couldn't, and neither could Cassandra, to neither girl's knowledge. Shelby couldn't stop her heart from pounding or her mind from wandering. She was wrong before—it wasn't like old times, not really. When the girls were in college, Shelby never felt the aching desire to pin Cass to the wall and kiss her until she begged her to stop.

_'Enough,'_ Shelby scolded herself_. 'Go to sleep.'_

_'But she's in __bed__ with you,'_ the drunk part of Shelby's mind fought with the usual part. Her heart leapt at the reminder, which scared her. She'd never had thoughts or feelings like this before today…

_'She'll still be there when you wake up,'_ she told herself silently. _'Sort out your priorities in the morning, alright?'_

Thus, Shelby tried to sleep, and eventually succeeded, long before Cass could.

_'I never noticed how sweet Corcoran's ass is_,' she thought_. 'Or how beautiful of a person she is…or how amazing she'd be in bed…'_ she blushed slightly at the last thought, embarrassed with herself, and lucky that Shelby wasn't awake to notice. Technically, they _were_ in bed, but Cass had better things on her mind than sleep…

Annoyed with herself, she shoved the thought away. Shelby would never go out with her, nor would she even consider it. _'Shelbs isn't into women_,' she told herself. Then again, neither, really, was Cass. However for Shelby, she might have been willing to make an exception.

_'You're drunk,'_ Cass finalized. _'Sleep it off._'

So she did.

. . . .

"Mom, you never sleep in past 10, what's gotten into you?" Rachel called, dropping her spare key on the counter as she passed it and heading towards her mother's room to give her a wake up call.

Rach had decided that she wasn't going to be mad at her mother. It wasn't exactly her fault that The Monster had brainwashed her, after all. Besides, they were friends a long time ago, that didn't mean they had to be friends now, right? She was willing to put it past her, if her mother was willing to do the same.

When Rach entered her mother's bedroom, she cringed back in shock, feeling a bit guilty for just walking in. It wasn't often that Shelby took someone home and into bed with her, so Rach really wasn't expecting someone else to be there. At a closer look, Rachel's jaw dropped. The person in bed was a woman.

"How many years of knowing me and she couldn't have mentioned that she's a lesbian?" Rach muttered to herself.

At an even closer look, Rachel exclaimed a very loud—"Oh my god! What the hell, Mom?!"—the woman in bed with Shelby was Rachel's teacher, Cassandra July. Gross.

. . . .

Shelby woke with a start upon hearing her daughter's voice, and Cass was quick to follow, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It took them both a minute to figure out how bad things looked, before both of the women started attacking Rach with explanations, both of them talking at once.

Not wanting to hear a single word of it, Rachel held up her hand to silence them, before storming out to the kitchen.

"I should really take back that spare key," Shelby muttered, stumbling out of bed.

"Yeah, no shit." was Cass's response, cranky from being woken from her dream—by a student, no less. She had been very into her dream, which happened to involve Shelby, damn her drunken mind and bless it all at once.

The two women followed Rachel to the kitchen, where the girl stood, completely disgusted.

"Rach, baby, that is so _not_ what it looked like," Shelby was quick to defend herself. "Cass was drunk and I didn't want her trying to make it home—"

"Besides, Ohio, does your mother _look_ like she's attracted to women? Come on, how long have you known her?" Cass added helpfully.

Rachel bit her lip, not sure if she believed them, but she decided in a hurry that it was better than the alternative, which was too upsetting to think about. Therefore, she had to go with what the women were promising. Rach recognized that she was being over dramatic and had obviously blown things way out of proportion, in the midst of her anger still built up towards her mom being friends with her Mortal Enemy. Besides, Ms. July was right. Rachel _did_ know her mom, and if anything had happened, she wouldn't have lied to cover herself up, she would have said something like, "It was only once, and I swear it will never happen again!", and Shelby had never lied to Rachel, so why would she start now?

She was still a little hesitant, but she'd call her mother out on it later.

Cassandra stared at her student awkwardly—way out of her element. Because of this, she turned defensive, and turned to Shelby's coffee machine, determined to become a little more alert. Her head was throbbing with the presence of a headache, not to mention confusing thoughts about someone she used to think of as her friend, not her lover. This time, she couldn't blame the alcohol, for it really had nothing to do with it.

Rachel's voice was too loud for Cass to deal with, as she said, "I was going to bring Brody with me—it's lucky for you two that I didn't—he would've been much harder to convince."

"_You_ are the one who's lucky, Rachel Berry," Shelby's tone was warning.

Cass moaned, rubbing her temples. "Corcoran, do you have any Aspirin? Pleeeasse say yes."

"Bathroom cupboard," Shelby didn't even look up from her breakfast she was making—just some toast, but she was hell-bent on letting it serve as a distraction. A distraction from the thoughts that she was still having about Cassandra—thoughts that should've disappeared with the alcohol. So why was she still having them?

When Cassandra left, Rachel spoke up, her voice low and demanding. "Did you sleep with Ms. July?"

Shelby pounded the counter with her hand out of shock. "Rachel Barbra Berry!"

"Yes or no?" Rachel rushed to get her mother to answer before her teacher came into the room again.

"Rachel, what gives you the right to even ask—"

"MOM!" Rachel pleaded forcefully.

"NO!" Shelby answered. "No, I didn't sleep with Cass! Why would you think that—"

"You were in bed with her," Rach practically growled.

"You and Kurt crash in the same bed sometimes, does that mean I have reason to accuse the two of you of—"

"Gross, Mom. Don't even go there, okay? Kurt's gay."

"What about Santana?" Shelby switched the gender.

"But I'M not gay!" Rach protested.

Shelby threw her hands up in the air, glad that Rachel was stepping on her point. "And you think I am?!" she demanded with a challenge.

"I don't know what to think," Rachel spat as Cassandra made her way back into the kitchen, catching the heated glare between mother and daughter.

"Woah, Ohio, don't hate on your mom like that. I invited myself over last night and she agreed. All we did was catch up, so you can drop the daggers and relax your annoying little head, alright?"

"I don't have to listen to you if we're not in class," Rachel snapped, directing her gaze towards The Monster herself. Cassandra's eyebrows raised, and Shelby could tell she was about to break.

_'Three…'_Shelby counted to herself.

_'Two…one…'_

"Listen here you little egotistical maniac. As your mother's friend, I'm going to give you some advice: Don't piss off someone who's obligated to make you college life a living hell, got it? And speaking as your teacher, if you EVER talk to me like that again, I will work you so hard that you practically drop dead at the end of every class because it'll be better than staying alive, that is only IF you manage to even bother showing up again,"

"Enough, Cass," Shelby sounded tired. "Rachel, respect your teacher."

Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but Shelby shot her a dangerous look that screamed, "Not another word, Berry."

The tension in the room was almost too much for Shelby to bear, so she spoke up next.

"Rachel, I know you don't like Cassandra, okay? It's obvious, and you don't have to point it out every time you see her. Secondly, she's being hard on you because she knows how well you work under pressure—"

"I can't believe you're taking her side!" Rachel complained, clearly hurt.

Shelby rubbed her temples, copying Cass from earlier for somewhat the same reason. "I'm not taking sides, Rachel, I'm being practical!" her voice started to rise. "You need to grow up and realize that not everyone in the world is out to get you!"

"But, Mom—"

"Rach! You've pushed me too far today, and I'm not going to tolerate any more of it!"

With an irritated scream, Rachel stormed out the front door, slamming it loudly behind her, and causing Cass to let out a groan of pain.

"That storm out was oddly familiar," she grimaced.

"Well, she is my daughter…"

"Oh, it shows, Corcoran."

"I'm going to pretend that was a compliment," Shelby laughed without emotion.

"Be my guest," was Cass's lame response. She was too out of it to think of a better one. "Hey, I should go. I have to set up my classes for tomorrow." She added as an afterthought.

"What the hell, Cassie?! You push my daughter over the edge, therefore pushing me over the edge, and after putting us through all of that you just leave?!" Shelby was only half-serious. She wasn't really mad at Cass.

Cass gave a sexy wink. "Hey, what are friends for if not to drive you wild?"

To which Shelby had no response. Cass opened Shelby's cupboard and pulled down a coffee mug, filling it to the top before dousing it in sugar. The look on her friend's face as she watched all of this occur was priceless.

"Got enough sugar?" Shelby managed to laugh, but only barely.

"I'm a dancer, I have to get my carbs from somewhere!" she defended herself, staring at Shelby's cup in disgust. "You drink your coffee black?"

Shelby merely shrugged, and Cassandra shook her head. "Remind me to take you out for a latte or something someday. Okay. I'm off—I'll get your cup back to you some time…"

"See you, July,"

"Not before I see you, Corcoran,"

"Don't you threaten me,"

And then Cass was gone and Shelby felt extremely lonely.

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**...again, tell me what you think! I appreciate it and it really helps! I've already started on chapter 3 :) xo ~hayleynymphadora**


	3. Will, Won't, Oh yeah, Schwimmer!

**Thanks to Jordan, for giving me a few of the ideas thrown into this chapter and for all of the great reviews, and **

**To my one guest reviewer: I happen to love Rachel. She's my favorite character in the show, if you don't count Kurt, Santana, Shelby, or Cassie. (I love them all, but out of all of them I love Rachel the best, and if you read my story Shelby and Rachel: Get it Right, you might just see how much). I'm not just using her as a tool, and I appreciate your concern for her, but you just have to power through this story and roll with the punches. Shelby, no matter how inappropriate her parenting might be at the moment, is a very confused and vulnerable person at the time. She's doing everything she can, in the midst of figuring things out. I agree that her behavior isn't exactly amazing, nor is Cassie's, but Rachel isn't perfect either. (Besides, Cass treats all of her students like that, not just Rachel. EX: Season 4, calling Lydia "Muffin Top" and telling her she needs to cut off a butt cheek to drop a few pounds).**

**Sometimes, in able to understand the whole story, you have to look at it from more than just Rachel's point of view. I promise, things will and do get better, for everyone involved, including Rachel. But you know how the saying goes…"things have to get worse before they get better" and that's what makes up the story. :)**

**Thank you all for your reviews, and please continue! It helps so much!**

**Always, ~~hayleynymphadora**

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Chapter 3: Will. Won't. Oh, yeah, Schwimmer.

Rachel didn't speak to Shelby for almost a week. The way Shelby saw it that was both a blessing and a curse, but mostly just a depressing inconvenience. She couldn't stand it when Rach was mad at her. Shelby had already missed 15 years of Rachel's life, why spend more days fighting over petty things? Even Kurt had gotten into this one, texting Shelby at midnight to call her out on her "bullshit friendship with Crazy July", and at this point Shelby had pretty much had enough of it. She and Cass went way back, before those kids were even thought of. The only reason they hated her was because they didn't get her, or care to try to know her. She was a secretive person, so what? Everyone has secrets…

Shelby walked slowly towards the dance studio, her heart pumping fast as she caught the eyes of students rushing past her so they could go home or move on to their next class. Wanting to have a talk with her daughter, Shelby waited by the door. Rachel seemed to have other intentions, however, and, aware of being slightly immature, slipped right past her mother, avoiding eye contact. Shelby reached out to grab her arm and stop her, but Rach maneuvered away from her mom's reach and continued to walk away. Shelby didn't even bother to go after her.

"She's still pretty pissed," Cass called from the middle of the room. Shelby turned to look where the voice was coming from and saw her friend, stretched out in the middle of the floor, taking off her stilettos and exchanging them for ballet slippers. Or, more accurately, toe shoes, because weren't slippers supposed to be _comfortable_?

Shelby walked into the middle of the room and joined Cass, crossing her legs, with no response to give.

"Rachel?" Cass continued, looking up at Shelby with a grimace, pity in her hazel eyes. Pity was something that Cassandra July didn't usually give, and under normal circumstances, Shelby would feel honored. But today all she wanted was to be able to talk to Rachel in a civilized manner. "She's been doing a lot of anger dancing, recently."

When Shelby scoffed, Cassandra felt the need to explain, "It's kind of like anger sex, but much more intimate."

That actually got Shelby to smile, as Cass knew it would. "What am I supposed to do about it?" Shelby asked desperately.

This time, Cassandra was the one to scoff. "You're asking the wrong person, babe. I don't have relationships, mother and daughter or otherwise. They don't work for me."

Shelby shook her head. "They could, you know. It's all in your head that they won't."

A small half smile spread across Cass's lips. It was a smile of doubt, and she had nothing to say to that, to Shelby's utter astonishment—Cassandra was never short of something to say, especially not to her.

"What's on your mind, Cassie?"

Cassandra shot her a look of fake confusion. "What do you mean, Corcoran?"

"There's something up," Shelby pursed her lips, thinking; her arms wrapped around her own body, as if giving herself a hug. "I can tell by the way you're acting."

With a shrug of her shoulders, Cass stood up, reaching down to help Shelby. Shelby took her hand and Cass pulled her up as well. For a minute, they just stared at each other, the tension building and building. Cass was dressed in a spaghetti strap, black unitard, the front a design like a tied corset. Her tights were close to skin color, with a few noticeable snags in a select couple of places. Shelby felt underdressed, in yoga pants (which, she recalled Cassandra calling "bad ass" not even a week ago), and a tank top.

Cass walked over to her bag and grabbed a thin, black overskirt, slipping it on before making her way to the barre. Shelby followed her friend around the room, listening for an explanation.

"I have a proposition for you, Corcoran," Cass admitted, lifting her arms up before stretching them back down.

Shelby smiled smugly. "Go on…"

"I can manage my class by myself, obviously, but…"

"Spit it out, July, you act like I have all day," Shelby joked.

"Look," Cassandra turned around to face Shelby, her face carrying a slight blush, which she had hoped Shelby wouldn't notice. But she did. "I want to hire you as a second dance teacher, here at NYADA—"

"You want to hire me as your personal assistant. Hell no." Shelby caught on.

"No, Shelbs, just listen, c'mon! Not an assistant, a second instructor, seriously! I need a dance partner for when I'm showing off ballroom, and I'm sick of using Weston."

"So you'd rather Tango with a girl?" Shelby couldn't help but question.

"A girl with some sex appeal, exactly. If they want to pretend like they know what the hell's going on in our lives, let them. Let the rumors spread, we know they aren't true."

_'Unfortunately…yet…'_ they both thought it at the same time.

Shelby thought for a moment, biting her bottom lip, to which Cassandra moaned, impatiently. "No, don't do that, it means you're about to say no."

_'We really must have known each other better than I thought, if she knows my answer just by watching my body language…' _Shelby thought.

"I don't know, Cass." She said, slowly. "I run my own Broadway daycare; I can't just come in every day and teach…"

"The school board of NYADA already promised you a full salary, Shelbs. SO much better than what you're taking in now. Besides, you OWN the daycare, so hire some people to work there for you. Don't you want to work with me?"

Yes, she did. She wanted to work with Cassandra so much that it hurt, but was she willing to give into that emotion and risk Rachel's potential happiness?

"What about Rach?" Shelby finally asked what she really didn't want to.

At this, Cassandra shrugged. "Schwimmer will be fine with it, she adores you. The only reason she's not talking to you right now is because she knows you were right earlier, and Ohio's got a problem with admitting that she's ever wrong. Besides, if anybody's going to whip that girl into shape, who better than the two of us? You took classes in dance, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"And you coached a show choir for seven years, winning a whole six times at Nationals?"

Shelby blushed and laughed. "Yeah, July, but that doesn't mean—"

"Then it's settled, you're working with me."

In one seductive movement, Cassandra's leg rose off the barre about three feet, before she swept it around and pointed her toe on the floor, switching legs. "You'll start next Monday."

Shelby sighed, feeling defeated. She really wanted to work with Cass, but Rachel was more important. So, all she had to do was talk to Rach about it first—if Rach would even give her the time of day. There was no way she would ever agree to this. By the torn look on Shelby's face, Cassandra could tell she was losing her battle.

"Please, Shelby? Mark this day on your calendar—I never beg, and this is the last time you'll ever see me do it."

_'We'll see about that…'_Shelby's mind whispered mischievously. Why couldn't she control these thoughts about Cass?! It was really starting to bother her.

"Fine, fine. I'll teach with you, July. But, just so we're clear—I'll only do it if you stop making Rachel cry."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Corcoran's and their conditions. I won't push Schwimmer so hard, but I'm not giving up on her either."

"I wasn't asking you to; just don't be so rough..." Shelby and Cassandra looked deeply into each others' eyes, their faces maybe a foot apart, before looking down hurriedly. "I'll…I'll see you Monday," Shelby tried so hard not to stutter, and almost managed it.

Cassandra replied nothing, holding in a grin and watching Shelby's hips sway as she sashayed out of the studio. For the first time in a long time, Cass was actually excited about something. Like, she might lose sleep from thinking about how each day was going to play out kind of excited. Shelby agreed to be her dance partner. She had an excuse to hold her close, as she had been dreaming of doing ever since that first night at Shelby's apartment. Cass had come to the conclusion, at this point, that it most definitely was not the wine talking the other day. She was seriously attracted to Shelby Corcoran.

And by the mixed signals she was getting from Shelbs, she could tell that she was attracted to her, too, which just about made her life livable.

. . .

She knew she had about five minutes to explain and convince Rachel to let her help Cassandra teach, and she also knew that she had to do so in a good manner, or else Rach would just storm out again- yet another thing they needed to talk about, but she'd save that for a different time.

Rach stood in front of her mother impatiently, her arms crossed over her chest, wondering why she even agreed to talk things out. It was just going to result in an argument and a storm out, and she was preparing herself for it mentally as Shelby opened her mouth to talk.

"Rachel, baby, why are you really upset? I know, you don't like her, but that's not the real reason. There's something deeper there, I know you."

_'Really, Shelby? This is how you're going to start it? You may as well chop off your head now, before Rach does it later…'_Shelby second guessed herself a little bit too late.

Rach saw the sincerity in her mother's pretty green eyes and sighed, feeling a pang of guilt in her chest, as she sat down on her mother's couch, next to her, so they could talk properly.

"I know why Ms. July pushes me. I might not fully understand her methods, but I don't appreciate her pushing me around like I used to be in high school. I know, I should be used to it, and I am, but I'm not in high school anymore, Mom. In college I was supposed to escape ridicule, and—"

"Rachel, did you honestly believe that you were going to get away from harsh critiques and mean blows by going to the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts?" Shelby held in a laugh. "Cassandra is preparing you for what's out there. She's been on Broadway—"

"And failed!" Rachel pointed out, heatedly.

"And if Cassandra July failed on Broadway that just proves how tough the business is. Learn from her mistakes, Rachel, because she didn't like her teachers in school either and it showed, for she never listened to a word they said and look where she is now."

After Shelby's little rant, things went quiet between them as Rachel soaked up what he mother was saying, hot tears forming in her young eyes.

"I don't want you to be friends with her, because then you'll treat me like that, too, and you were my one savoir. And I just got you back, Mom, I don't want to share you with HER."

Now it was Shelby's turn to feel guilty as she looked at her daughter, full of pity. Rachel's long brown hair was starting to get wet from a few salty tears. "Oh, baby," Shelby whispered. "No! My being friends with Cass doesn't take time away from you! Never! And when have I ever NOT pushed you? Hmm? Cassandra's the same way, sweetheart, with a funny way of showing it. I know she's hard to get used to, but once you get past her teasing and taunting she's an amazing person. You have to believe me."

Rachel thought about this for a moment, before responding, "You mean Ms. July is like Santana?"

Shelby let out a laugh: If that's the way to get Rachel to accept Cassie, she could deal with that. "Yes, Rachel, she's almost exactly like Santana,"

Rachel nodded, slowly. "Okay. Okay, I'll give her a shot. She only gets on chance though."

"She's promised me she won't push you as hard, but she's also said that she's not going to quit altogether, and I agree that she shouldn't. You're best when you're anger dancing. The emotion really shows."

Rachel cocked her head in confusion. "Anger dancing?"

"Never mind," Shelby smiled at the inside joke and continued. "On that note, Cassandra has asked me to be her second instructor at NYADA, and the school has already offered me full salary. Would it be alright with you if I take the job?"

"But what about your daycare?!" Rach protested.

Shelby shook her head with a smile, "Already taken care of—I've hired employees to run it. If I tell Cass yes, I start tomorrow morning," she added with a hint of pleading.

Rachel rolled her eyes and gave a half smile. "Fine, alright, you can take the job."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but don't make me not like you, Mom," she begged.

Shelby had to laugh, pulling her daughter into a tight, warm embrace. "I won't, I promise. Thank you, Rachel."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too."

. . . .

"You're late,"

Shelby threw up her hands in a protest and yawned before muttering, "Good morning to you, too. How am I late? It's five thirty in the morning and classes don't start until seven!"

In fact, she had come early because she had a feeling that Cass had some weirdly tight schedule that Shell knew nothing about. When Shelby turned to look at Cass, she caught a smile on the dance instructor's face.

"I'm messing with you, Corcoran, loosen that corset of yours." She gave that sexy signature wink and Shelby relaxed her shoulders, which had tensed upon hearing Cassandra's accusation. On the inside, Shelby melted with a held back swoon at that wink, but then she scolded herself. She had tried to talk herself into not having feelings for Cassandra last night. What would Will do, if he knew? They had been keeping up this long distance relationship since she left Ohio, and wouldn't thinking about Cass like this be considered cheating?

Shelby's phone rang, coincidentally. 'Speaking of Will…' she unlocked it and answered, "Hi, honey." She was used to Will calling every morning around this time. They said good morning to each other while they got ready for work, wished each other a good day, then hung up until later on that night. Other forms of communication consisted of lots of skyping and long emails.

"Hello gorgeous," he quoted Funny Girl and he loved her. What more could Shelby really ask for? "Having a good morning?"

"It's alright, so far."

"Excited for the new job?" he asked.

Shelby casted an anxious glance towards Cassandra, who was checking her sound system. "Nervous," she replied.

Will's voice was comforting. "Don't worry, Shelby, everything will be fine, I promise. You know what you're doing, you've coached dance before."

Shelby nodded before realizing her couldn't hear her. "Yeah, I know. I'm being ridiculous,"

At this, Will laughed. "No, you're being Shelby Corcoran. The woman who worries and dramatizes everything."

Shelby forced a laugh too.

"Hey, well I have to go, the kids are doing another Journey week and I have to prepare a lesson, still."

"That makes two of us,"

"I'll talk to you tonight, okay? I love you."

"Love you too,"

"Bye,"

"Bye."

Click.

Cassandra's eyes were curious. "Rach calling you pretty early, huh? Is she even up by five thirty?"

Shelby cleared her throat. "That um, wasn't Rach. It was Will."

Cassandra's expression was blank, and Shelby was having a hard time reading it, so she continued.

"He's my boyfriend."

"Woah, Corcoran. What happened to the "make-out sessions and relationships that didn't mean anything to you"?"

"He was a make-out session," Shelby admitted. It wasn't a lie. "But he does mean something to me."

_'He means a beard to you, Corcoran,'_ Cassandra thought bitterly. _'You have feelings for me and you know it'._

"Why did you lie to me earlier?" Cass was blunt and obviously hurt.

Shelby shrugged. "It's a long distance relationship; I knew you'd tease me or think I was making it up."

Cass scoffed. "If you're happy, I'm happy, Corcoran."

It was a lie, and a big one. She wanted Shelby to herself, and if Will was going to stand in the way…

Shell nodded but didn't truly believe Cassandra. Cass walked towards Shelby, talking as she did so. The sunrise was shining beautifully through the window, making her glow and Shelby swallowed, slowly. Talking herself through not wrapping her arms around Cass's neck and…

"Okay, so we're going through basics today, almost like a review. No serious number between the two of us, I'll give you a few days to practice with me first, but you and I can start rehearsing this morning and see how it goes."

With a nod, Shelby asked, "Are we still working on the Tango?"

"That we are," Cass got closer and Shelby forgot how to breathe.

"D-does my daughter still not have the sex appeal?"

"I was giving Schwimmer a hard time, she has plenty sex appeal." Cass said this with a sway in her hips as she continued to advance towards Shelby, who was almost pressed up against the back wall at this point. "I mean, look at who her mother is," Cassandra continued, eyeing Shelby up and down with a small grin.

Shelby dry swallowed, recognizing that her feelings were being reciprocated; only Cass was brave enough to show how much.

'_Will. Think about Will. You can't hurt him; you love him, don't you?...Oh, but Cassandra…'_

Cass had Shelby this time, and she took the woman's hands in her own, holding them warmly. Shelby didn't refuse, and Cass advanced until Shelby's back had hit the wall, panting slightly out of anxiety and lust.

"Tell me to stop, and I will," Cassandra offered, but Shelby didn't say a word. Instead, she tilted her head back, lost of all logical thought. Cassandra took this opportunity to press her lips lightly against Shelby's, the kiss slow and building. Shelby's body tensed up, her heart racing, and Cassandra's skin burned as Shelby's shaking hands reached out for something to hold on to, eventually settling at Cass's waist. As the kiss grew stronger, Shelby sunk into it, giving in to all of her fears. She wanted Cassandra—Will wasn't even in New York!

Will.

This was still wrong. It was cheating. What about Will?

Shelby broke away, panting harder and Cass rested her hands on Shelby's shoulders, looking confused, if not slightly disappointed. "I c-can't," Shelby's voice broke. "I want to, but I—"

"Then go for it, babe. Be adventurous. Be that fierce Corcoran I know you to be," Cassandra challenged with that wink.

Shelby swooned aloud this time. Oh, that wink. Her hands tightened on Cass's waist so she could keep herself standing. "Cassie, I—"her voice was almost at a squeak and she was shaking with adrenaline and fear. Cassandra July could smell fear.

"Are you afraid, Shelbs?" she whispered, planting a very soft kiss on Shelby's neck and making the woman shudder. "You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm—I'm not afraid, Cassie,"

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"I have Will."

"But you don't love him, do you?"

"I…"

Cassandra leaned in for another kiss and Shelby accepted it, against her better judgment, this one much more powerful. One kiss turned into two, then three and four, until the girls lost count. Shelby's hands found Cassandra's long blond hair and got lost in it when Cassandra's hands took hold of Shelby's waist, pulling her in closer.

The sun was fully risen by now, and the orange light shown brightly over them. The sun got into Shelby's eyes, so she hid her face in Cassandra's neck, planting light, sweet kisses there. Cassandra was warm, her touch loving. Shelby could tell by Cass's movements that this was more than just lust. Cass had actual emotion thrown in with these caresses and these kisses.

Cassandra broke away for air and Shelby gave a laugh. "Oh, Tin Man, you do have a heart," she joked, practically breathless herself.

Instead of keeping her usual I-Don't-Laugh-Unless-I-Made-The-Joke composure, Cass laughed along, to Shelby's utter astonishment.

"Only for you, Corcoran," she admitted.

Shelby had no response for a moment, before answering, "and Will?"

Cassandra seemed exasperated. "You hide him from me until five minutes ago and now he's all you talk about," Cass grabbed Shelby by the waist and picked her up so that her legs were wrapped around Cass. "Can Will do this?" she demanded, deepening their kiss.

Shelby pulled her head away and jumped down from Cass. "Yes," she answered.

"Right here, right now?" Cass wondered, her voice rising.

"So because he's not here, I should love you more?" Shelby had to question, no matter how much she didn't want to.

"You should love me more because you feel more for me, Shelbs. We have a better connection."

"You don't even know Will—"

"Do you?" Cass wondered incredulously. "How long have we been friends, Corcoran? I know what makes you tick," she grabbed Shelby and held her tighter as she spoke. "I know what makes you swoon," she nibbled Shelby's ear to prove it, and Shelby tried to hold the swoon in, but failed, to Cass's amusement. She finished her rant, "But if you'd rather have him…"

The way Shelby saw things; she wasn't getting much of an option. She was accidentally head over heels for Cass, and she thought she loved Will, but what if Cassie was the one she really loved? The one she was meant to be with?

She had to second guess herself, though, because what if Will was the one?

_'Ah, screw it all. Will's not here,'_ she told herself as Cass stood in front of her, impatiently waiting an invitation to start in on Shelby again. _'It's not cheating,'_ Shelby convinced herself. _'It's experimenting.'_

'It's cheating,' a different part of her conscience snapped.

"Bullshit," Shelby told herself as she moved forward and allowed her lips to collilde with Cassandra's. She hadn't meant to say the last part out loud, but Cassie didn't seem to be complaining as she relaxed her body and let Shelby lead this time.

To Cassandra, for once, it felt good to let someone else be in control—but only if it was Shelby. Only Shelby. It had always been only Shelby that she trusted.

Time passed quicker than the women had hoped, and soon they had just thirty minutes before classes started.

Shelby lay on her back on the floor, smiling and breathless from her and Cassandra's games. With an almost-content-but-not-ready-to-quit sigh, Cass laid herself down next to her new lover and old friend. After taking a moment to think and breathe, Cass sat up and spread out so she could stretch, running her hands through her hair.

"We have to start getting ready for classes," she blushed guiltily.

Shelby sat up as well, and copied Cassandra's movements. "Alright," she seemed a little out of it. A little distracted. From anyone else, Cass would completely understand why, but that didn't excuse Shelby Corcoran—she never acted this way, whether the world was ending or she was going through an emotional crisis.

"What are your thoughts, Corcoran?"

Shelby shook her head slowly—dazed. "Confused," she answered.

Cassandra grinned. "Didn't think you were into women?"

Shelby shook her head again. "Not _women_, just _you_."

Cass could definitely relate. After a silence, she told Shelby as much, before adding, "It's okay, you know. To love women. To love me."

It took Shelby a little longer to answer this time. "I know…"

"Do you really love Won't?"

"Will."

"That's what I said."

Shelby rolled her eyes and gave out a frazzled sigh. "I guess not, if I was so willing to go for it with you."

"So why don't you just break up with him?" Cass wondered.

Shelby's expression turned grim. "Rachel would get curious." was her response.

_'Oh, shit.'_ Cass thought. _'What about Schwimmer?!'_

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**Tell me what you think! :) ~~hayleynymphadora**


	4. I Get So Emotional, Baby

**Hey! Here's a long chapter for you guys, feel free to review and tell me what you think! :) I like it, but maybe I'm biased. xD**

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Chapter 4: I Get So Emotional, Baby

_"I've been hearing your heart beat inside of me,_

_ I keep your photograph beside my bed,_

_ Living in a world of fantasies, I can't get you out of my head,_

_ Oh, I've been waiting for the phone to ring all night,_

_ Why you wanna make me feel so good?_

_ I've got a love of my own, baby,_

_ I shouldn't get so hung up on you._

_ I remember the way that we touched,_

_ I wish I didn't like it so much. Oh,_

_ I get so emotional, baby,_

_ Every time I think of you,_

_ I get so emotional, baby,_

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?_

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?_

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?_

_ I've gotta watch you walk in the room, baby,_

_ I've gotta watch you walk out, mm-hmm._

_ I like the animal way that you move, _

_ And when you talk, I just want your mouth._

_ Oh, I remember the way that we touched,_

_ I wish I didn't like it so much. No,_

_ I get so emotional, baby,_

_ Every time I think of you,_

_ I get so emotional, baby, _

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?_

_ I get so emotional, baby,_

_ Every time I think of you,_

_ I get so emotional, baby, _

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?_

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?_

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?"_

Shelby laughed to herself at the irony and shut the radio off, massaging her temples. It had been four days since she first started working with Cassandra, and the urge to love her and hold her was getting harder and harder to fight. The song wasn't doing a whole lot to help, though it was fantastic that life decided to throw it at her, she thought bitterly.

When she got off the phone with Will a few minutes before, she was almost in tears—Something Shelby Corcoran never did was cry. Was it possible that she didn't love Will anymore? That she might not have actually loved him to begin with? Or is the real answer that she thinks a fling with Cassandra would be dangerous, bad ass, tricky and fun, so why not go for it? She didn't know what to do, and being around Rachel so much was only making her mood worse. She had no one to talk to about it, and she felt ready to explode.

She had the sudden impulse to do something, and without thinking, she did.

Two rings before,

"What's up, Corcoran?"

"Hey, Cassie. Do you want to come over tonight? I'm lonely."

Shelby could practically see the grin forming on Cassandra's face. "Sure, babe, I'll be right there."

Click.

Shelby smacked herself mentally and physically. "Why did you do that?!" she questioned herself aloud, angrily. "You don't know how to decide who you want more, so naturally you call one of them over and you don't even give Will a chance!"

She told herself she needed to relax. Will was coming to visit in two weeks. She could last two weeks without anything serious transpiring between her and Cassandra, then spend a few days with Will and see what her decision is.

But that didn't leave out Rachel. Yes, Rachel seemed to be okay with Shelby helping Cassandra teach. But teaching and dating were two completely different things, and Shelby had a feeling Rachel would not react very kindly if she found out about any of it. It would destroy her, and that was the last thing Shelby wanted. She winced. Maybe she should call Cassandra back and cancel? Claim that she felt sick, or…

Four quick raps against the front door and Shelby's stomach decided to mimic the symptoms of her "sick" story. She rushed to answer it, swinging it open to find Cass in shorts and a long sleeved shirt, one side hanging off the shoulder, her cell phone in her left hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.

"Hey Shelbs," her voice was low and syrupy.

"Hey Cassie," Shelby couldn't help but laugh at Cass's tone. "You're drunk."

"I am not!" she protested, walking through the door. "I saved you half of the bottle!"

Shelby rolled her eyes and grinned, as Cassandra continued.

"It takes a lot more to get me drunk, Corcoran."

"I thought you quit," Shelby said, taking the bottle out of Cass's hand and heading towards the kitchen with it.

"I…went to rehab, then started having a drink every now and then…"

"A drink is not half of the bottle," Shelby laughed in amusement.

"Who are you, my mother?"

Shelby decided to just let it go, and Cassandra got closer to her, rubbing a hand down Shelby's arm with a smile, comforting her. "You have goosebumps," Cass giggled. "Cold, or is it me?"

"A little bit of both," Shelby decided there was no point in lying.

Cassandra's tone got serious, but stayed low and syrupy. "We could have a relationship, you know. You and me. We'd be unconquerable, Shelbs. Unstoppable. Amazing with each other…" she took Shelby's arms and wrapped them around her body, rubbing her own hands up Shelby's back, tenderly.

"I know we would be. Could be. But I can't, Cassandra."

"Because of Will?" she sounded disgusted. "The one who used to teach Schwimmer? I have to meet this guy, so I can see my competition. When are you seeing him next?"

Did she dare tell Cassandra? That night would be very awkward if the three of them were in a room together.

Shelby sighed. What else did she have to lose? "In a couple of weeks…"

Cassandra drew Shelby's face closer to her and breathed her in, keeping her lips at Shelby's neck as she spoke. "Well then, I'll just have to meet him then, won't I? But until then…"

Shelby pulled away, slowly and kindly, but forcefully. "Until then, we really need to stop what we're doing. It feels wrong."

Cassandra gave her a look of disbelief. "You wanted me to come over…"

"Yes, but not for— Cassie, I love you, I do. And I have feelings for you, but… I don't know if I'm in love with you."

The pain in Cassandra's eyes was enough to make Shelby's no-crying streak disappear for a few hours straight. Shelby felt horrible. Cassandra wasn't easy to let her guard down, but she did around Shelby, immensely so. It must feel to Cass like Shelby's using her. Cass had never been so open with anybody. Never had such a connection, or felt so much emotion, and Shelby was just pushing her away, casting her aside like everyone else who didn't give her a chance.

Cassandra turned to walk towards the door, but Shelby grabbed the woman's hand before she could go very far at all. "Please, Cassie, don't leave me."

"I'm not sure if I can just be friends with you, Shelby, it was hard enough when we were younger!" as soon as she said it, she regretted it.

Shelby looked dumbfounded, and flopped down onto the couch as her knees grew weak. "You…what?" she whispered. "You liked me before…before just recently?"

"It's been hard, Shelbs. And I never made a move, because I knew you wouldn't reciprocate, and why would you? I was _me_. But now, you seemed so different. Like you were ready for something like this, and I was ready to open my heart to you, because I was positive you weren't going to say no." Cassandra never cried, either, but her voice broke as she spoke, to her utter embarrassment and irritation. "And now—"

Shelby took Cassandra by the neck and pulled her into the deepest kiss the two of them had ever shared. She was warm, Shelby noticed, and she tasted like champagne and vanilla and a very strong but sexy perfume. Cassandra inched towards Shelby so they were more comfortable and eventually just joined her on the couch, dropping her phone and reaching out to hold Shelby's back for support. Shelby moved her face back and kissed Cassandra's forehead, and then her neck, and then her shoulder, before whispering,

"I'm so scared, Cassie."

Cassandra took a breath to relax herself before planting a kiss on Shelby's temple. "Don't be, Shelbs. Everything will work out fine; think about who you're talking to." She gave a smile and Shelby returned it, snuggling into Cassandra and leaning back on the couch, pulling Cass with her.

Seeing as Shelby's arms were occupied being wrapped around Cassandra, Cass took control of the remote, and they spent the rest of the night watching episodes of Private Practice and talking, holding each other close for moral support. Whether Shelby wanted to admit it or not, they were apart of each others' lives now, and they needed each other. It was a fact she was going to have to accept sooner or later, so why not just pick sooner?

. . . .

The sun's rays woke Cass and she squinted, rubbing her eyes at the harsh awakening. When she moved to get up, she felt Shelby's arms around her and grinned, not wanting to move, else she'd escape Shell's grasp and her warmth. Her head spun around to check the clock and she gasped in a panic, shaking Shelby.

"Shelbs. Babe. CORCORAN! Get up, we're late! We have classes today!"

Shelby woke with a start, "What?" her voice was innocent and raspy and it made Cassandra pause to grin, even in the midst of chaos.

"It's six thirty," Cassandra stated, pacing to the kitchen to get some coffee going.

"Shit!" Shelby got off the couch quickly, stopping for a moment to stretch her back and try to massage the knot out of her neck. "Ow," she complained.

"I'll help get the knot out later, I have one, too." Cassandra said, heading towards Shelby's bathroom. "I'm using your hairbrush!" she announced when the door shut.

"Have fun with it!" Shelby called back, turning to her room to get dressed.

By the time the women were dressed, and brushed, it was six forty five.

"Students get to class ten minutes early, I hope you can run fast, Shelbs, cause there's no way in hell we're driving through traffic." She poured herself a cup of coffee and got one for Shelby, too, handing it to her.

"We'll be fine, hopefully. Do you want something to wear?"

Cassandra looked down at her yoga shorts and long sleeved off-the-shoulder shirt that she slept in last night. It still smelled like Shelby. "No, it's fine. I can dance in this. We're lucky our shoes are in the studio, still, or we'd be—"

"I know, I know. We have to go."

They were almost out the door, before Cass swore viciously. "Have you seen my phone?"

Shelby spun around. "Last I checked it was on the couch—"

"Well it's not now!" Cass panicked. "Call it for me?"

Shelby did so, quickly, and seconds later she heard it going off in between the couch cushions. She listened a little harder, and smiled broadly at the ringtone.

_"I remember the way that we touched,_

_ I wish I didn't like it so much,_

_ I get so emotional baby,_

_ Every time I think of you,_

_ I get so emotional, baby,_

_ Ain't it shocking what love can do?"_

. . . .

They made it to the studio ten minutes before the first class was supposed to start. The first class was Rachel's, and luckily for Cass and Shelb, only she and Brody were there early.

Before the women could enter, Cass put an arm out to stop Shelby. "We can't both come in late at the same time, Schwimmer'll over-think things."

Shelby bit her lip and Cassandra refrained from showering her in kisses as she did so, so unintentionally sexily. "Okay," Shelby said. "So I'll go in first, and—"

"But it's my class!" Cass protested.

"It's _our_ class," Shelby corrected.

_'Damn, she's right,'_ Cass through. She was going to have to get used to sharing. Luckily enough, she didn't mind adjusting her life—as long as it was for Shelby.

Shelby could tell she wasn't going to win this war and she groaned, tired, her neck throbbing from the unattended knot.

"Fine," she said. "You go in first, I'll pretend to com in late, and you can tell me off to keep your bad-ass rep."

Cassandra's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Shelby nodded. "Yes, yes, as long as you pay me back later."

"You're the best, Shelby—"

"I know. Now go, before I remember I'm a bitch."

Cassandra flung the door to the studio open and Shelby moved to the side so as to stay out of the view of Rachel and Brody. She watched silently as Cass barked an order at the two of them and they rushed to the corner of the studio, starting to warm up immediately.

After waiting for about five minutes, Shelby could hear other students behind her, rushing to the studio, so she opened the door and walked in, awaiting Cassandra's fake anger.

"Corcoran," Cass didn't miss a beat. "You're late. If you value your paycheck, you'll be here an hour early on Monday. This is _our_ class," she emphasized it as Shelby had earlier. "I'm not meant to start it alone."

"I'm sorry, Cassandra." Shelby answered, flinging her bag to the side and stretching out her legs.

Cass walked right up to Shelby, challenging her. Oh, would Shelby make her pay later on.

"You're sorry?" Cassandra's voice was low and threatening, and Shelby had to force herself to remember that Cass was a trained actress. "You make me wait for you for an hour, you're not properly warmed up or ready to start class, this is a professional group effort you know, and all you have to say is that you're sorry?"

"It…it won't happen again," Shelby tried.

"I've got my eyes on you, Corcoran," Cassandra walked away, her hips swaying as she did so.

_'God, I sure hope so,'_Shelby was careful not to smile. She couldn't even answer—she was too afraid she would crack a smile—and didn't July just say that this class was professional?

The rest of the day and throughout classes, Shelby remained silent, pretending not to care about Cassandra's touches. Trying not to think about how good Cassandra made her feel when she grabbed her by the thigh and flipped her up and over Cass's body. She was attempting not to let Cass feel her heart pounding when her chest touched Cass's back.

She didn't want to fall in love with Cassandra.

She could NOT fall in love with Cassandra.

_Will._ She told her self. _I love Will. I love him. I can't hurt him. I love him. Will. Will. Will!_

"Corcoran!" Cassandra's voice brought her into a harsh reality, causing her to jump with a start.

"Yeah?"

"Stay back, I want to talk to you,"

The rest of the class left and Shelby tried to compose herself before Cassandra could catch the hot blush on her face. Cass had a blush on her face, too, and Shelby couldn't help but notice. It was that last dance move…almost as bad as the spread eagle….it made Shelby dare to think about the musical Chicago, and how well Cassandra would play Velma. Or even Roxie. Cassandra in one of those costumes… the blush deepened.

_'Stop it, Shelby!'_

"Sorry if I seemed too harsh," Cass admitted. "I had to keep up my act, you know."

"It's not an act," Shelby laughed.

"Only with you," Cassandra pointed out.

Shelby had no response to that, except for, "I can't keep this up, Cassie."

Cassie frowned, unable to answer for a moment, before saying, "Keep what up, exactly?"

"You and me, thinking and acting the way we are. It's…I have Will. I'm happy with Will, and I love Will." She tried to sound confident, but she was shaky as she spoke.

"You sure you love Will?" Cassandra dared to ask. "Because I don't know if I'll be forgiving if you change your mind."

"Bullshit you won't." Shelby said with a scoff. "Besides, we just…I can't go on like this. I'm not sure if I can even continue to teach with you. It...it hurts. Some of these dance moves are so…provocative."

"It's _dance_, Corcoran."

"It's _sexy_, July."

"…Really?"

"…yeah," Shelby mumbled an answer. "And…I've never felt this way, and it's—"

"You don't like it?"

"I didn't say that." Shelby snapped-quick to defend herself. "It just—"

"It scares you."

She didn't answer, because it did, and how could she possibly admit that without sounding childish?

Cass leaned forward before Shelby could stop her and pressed a soft kiss to the woman's lips before whispering, "Stop worrying, okay, Shelbs? Do you want me to get that knot out of your neck, now?"

It took all of Shelby's strength to muster, "No, I…I have to go…"before she grabbed her bag from the corner and rushed out the door of the studio, remembering they ran there. She walked home at a fast pace, and Cassandra didn't even bother to follow her—it was obvious she just wanted to be alone for the rest of the day. _To gather her thoughts or some shit_, Cass imagined.

When Shelby made it back home, she wasn't as out of breath as she thought she would be. It was her guess that it had to do with all of the time she'd been spending with Cassandra—she lost her breath every time she looked at Cass, so maybe she just got used to doing so.

_'Stop thinking about her!'_ she commanded herself while striving to think of a more logical explanation. _'It was probably all of the dancing I've been doing. I'm back in shape, that's all.'_

She opened the door and let out a gasp. Standing in front of her was none other than Will Schuester, a bouquet of roses in his arms, and that big, goofy, dimpled smile of his plastered across his face. Shelby could barely speak and Will rushed forward to hug her as she dropped her bag and became enveloped in his loving arms. She clung to him tightly, missing his touch, and wanting to prove to herself that she loved him more than she had feelings for Cassandra.

Will laughed, "I obviously succeeded in surprising you,"

Shelby felt his laugh against her and she sighed into his warmth. "I wasn't expecting you so soon! I thought you were waiting for another two weeks!"

He stroked her back, softly, after setting the roses down. "I wanted to surprise you," he laughed again. "I'm off of work for a week."

"A whole week," Shelby repeated, smiling into his chest. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, baby."

"How'd you even get in here?" she asked, astonished.

"The landlord was expecting me. So what's new, anything exciting? How's the daycare?"

Shelby escaped his embrace, holding on to his arm and picking up the bouquet, ignoring his stream of questions as she smelled them. "These are wonderful, Will. I love them, thank you."

"You're welcome," he laughed nervously. "You didn't answer like… any of my questions."

"We…we have a lot to talk about."

But she didn't dare tell him about her possible feelings for Cassandra. How could she even begin to explain? No. It would only start an unnecessary argument between them, and it definitely wasn't worth it, especially if he was only going to be in New York City for a week…

. . . . .

"So when do I get to meet Cassandra?" Will asked later, lying in bed with Shelby as they talked. The blankets were draped around the both of them, his bare chest calling Shelby's name. She snuggled up against him, holding him close. She had been dreading this question…

"Um, I'm not sure. She wants to meet you though," _'why did you tell him that?!'_

"I look forward to it," he smiled down at her, warmly, and she accepted a kiss from him. Then another. And another.

She sighed. "Oh, Will. I've missed you. I've been so lost, recently. I wish I knew what to do…"

"My Shelby Corcoran, confused? This must be big."

She wanted so badly to tell him. "I…It's just…a little bit of everything."

"Mid life crisis at age 36?"

Shelby made a sort of scoff and half laugh. "Something like that."

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to talk…" he kissed the side of her neck, softly, and she grinned.

"Mmmm. Thank god."

"No. Leave him out of this,"

Shelby laughed.

She did love Will.

Cassandra was just a phase.

It was clear to her now, and when he and Cassandra met, everything would be fine.

. . .

"So you're the man who's been distracting my Corcoran,"

It was the first thing out of Cassandra's mouth and Shelby was already regretting this party thing that she promised the both of them. Will had already been in New York for three days, and Shelby was not looking forward to him going back home. She didn't feel so lonely anymore.

Sex was different though. She couldn't bring herself to do it with him anymore. Not when all she thought about was Cassandra. It terrified her and pissed her off all at the same time.

Rachel and Brody, Kurt and Santana, and Cassandra and Will were all at Shelby's apartment tonight for the get-together and Shelby could not feel more awkward or out of place. In fact, she was starting to regret this decision to badly that she was pondering faking an extreme illness. She watched over-jealously as Santana's eyes continued to flicker towards Cassandra's ass, about once every ten seconds.

_'I know she's hot, Santana, but back off, she's mine,'_ was Shelby's immediate first thought. _'Oh, but she's not…'_ she considered. _'Then why am I so jealous?! I hope my face isn't as red as it feels…'_

She moved with a start when Will's hand was placed on her shoulder in what he imagined was a comforting fashion. In reality, it just made her even tenser, but what Will didn't know wouldn't kill him…yet.

_I need to sit down…_

"Yes," Will said, and it took Shelby a moment to realize he was answering Cass's question. "I'm Will Schuester, it's nice to meet you."

Cassandra took his hand with a smile, perhaps pushing the "nice" act a little too far, in Rachel's opinion. "Cassandra July," was Cass's response.

Kurt put his hand in front of him, so that only Will and Shelby could see his lips moving before mouthing, "Crazy July."

Shelby rolled her eyes. Why did they kids insist on torturing Cassandra with that title? The woman had been through enough ridicule about the freak out already! _Let it go._

"So how have you been, Mr. Schue?" Rachel spoke up and Shelby couldn't have loved her more.

Will laughed. "Rachel, I'm not your teacher anymore, plus I'm dating your mother. It's okay to call me Will."

Rachel crinkled her nose. "That feels weird though." She insisted.

"How's Glee?" Santana asked, catching the eye of Cassandra before winking. Shelby's stomach flipped when Cass actually smiled and winked back.

"Different, without you guys, and truthfully, not as good," he was unfazed by the flirtatious exchange between Santana and Cass.

_He probably wouldn't care if he DID see it…_Shelby realized, annoyed with herself.

"Everyone's been trying to replace the originals. But you guys are so unique. No one could ever replace you all."

"Oh, Mr. Schue, we miss you, too." Rachel grinned.

"Yeah, between Rachel and Shelby both talking about you nonstop, I had to see it for myself to believe just how great they say you are," Cassandra piped up.

Shelby's red face got even redder. She did not talk about Will ALL the time, did she? Only since she told Cass about him, she supposed…and Rachel really did talk about her high school experiences a lot, but did it really annoy Cassie as much as it seemed to? Shelby fidgeted, wringing her hands in slow circles while she listened to the others talk, not trusting herself to open her mouth.

All of the minors were drinking sparkling cider, but the adults had a glass of wine each. When Shelby looked over at Cassandra, she noticed her glass was a lot emptier than it should have been, considering they didn't pour the glasses long before that moment. This, of course, made Shelby's heart pound harder and faster. Cassandra July drunk tonight, of all nights, was not something that Shelby needed happening.

When Cass started in later on her third glass, Shelby spoke up. "Cassie," she laughed nervously. "Chill."

Cassandra shot her a look. "I'm fine, Corcoran. I know my limit."

"Yeah, so do I."

It was the wrong thing to say, though, to Shelby's utter dismay, for Cassandra's buzz had already set in, and she stood up to tell Shelby how she felt on the matter.

"YOU said no to ME, Corcoran. That means you can't control what I do, or how much I drink, so just let it go! I'm uncontrollable, always. You know you're the only person I trust, hell, you're the only person in the world that I don't dislike, so please don't turn into everyone else!"

There was a dead, awkward silence between everyone in the room. Kurt stared, jaw dropped, and he muttered to Rachel, so quietly that only she heard, "Crazy July's at it again..." Rachel just swallowed, trying to process what just went on between her mother and her teacher, whom, until just recently, she was actually starting to accept as an all right person.

Shelby's heart shattered as she watched Cassandra stand, confused, drunk, and vulnerable, in front of her and her students. Brody was getting out his phone to shoot a video of her meltdown, but Shelby shot him a glare so menacing, he dared not finish taking the phone out of his pocket.

"Well, on that note...we should go…" Santana stood, finishing her cider and setting it on the table. "Thanks, Shelb."

"Yeah, we should go," Kurt agreed. "Thanks, Shelby,"

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel and Brody both stood in a silent agreement and they all left. Shelby muttered a silent thank you to them all before they shut the door behind them. Cassandra ignored them all, staring at Shelby with pleading eyes.

Shelby rubbed her temples.

. . .

"What the hell do you think Cassandra meant by "YOU said no to ME, Corcoran."?" Rachel asked hesitantly on their walk home. Santana scoffed, her answer in such a sarcastically obvious tone that Rachel had to scowl.

"She obviously asked your mother out, Berry. Shelby, being straight and in love with Mr. Schue, said no, and now July's pissed at her for it, therefore taking her feelings out on Shelby and Will, and resolving back to drinking like she used to before she failed at rehab."

Kurt stared at her, thinking that she's probably right, but not admitting so to Rachel.

Rachel thought about it for a minute, then shook her head and laughed without emotion. "No. No way. They're best friends; Ms. July didn't ask Mom out. There's no way."

"I'm telling you, Berry, I know a lesbian crush when I see one." Santana shrugged. "If you don't want to believe me, that's your problem."

"Is July even into chicks?" Brody asked, disbelieving.

Santana shrugged. "They're both hot, why couldn't they go out?"

"Gross gross gross, Santana, stop. I'm going to pretend you didn't just call my mother and my dance teacher hot, and I'm going to ignore your insistence that they are lesbians for each other."

"When have I ever wronged you, Berry?"

This made Rachel and Kurt burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. "Almost every day of her high school life," Kurt said.

"Okay, maybe, but I'm not wrong about this."

_She's wrong. _ Rachel decided. _She's so wrong. Mom's not even a lesbian. I just jumped to conclusions the other night. They're not dating, and Cassandra didn't ask her out. They must have been talking about something completely different._

By the end of the night, Rach had herself convinced that Santana was wrong, and she could sleep peacefully. Shelby, on the other hand, was not so lucky, unbeknown to her daughter.

. . . .

"Cassandra, you've been drinking too much. It was against my better judgment to get out wine, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't tempt you like that. But please, you have to calm down, you're freaking out Will. This isn't a very good first impression of you—"

"Will will will! He's the only one you care about, isn't he?! You don't even LOVE him, Shelby!"

Shelby took handfuls of her own hair as she paced around the room, playing a game of "who's right" with Cassandra while Will waited in the living room for their return. Shelby was thankful she sound-proofed the room when she moved in (originally so she could record music without getting complaints from the neighbors, but as long as Will couldn't hear Cassandra's accusations, she was okay).

"Yes," Shelby was growing tired of this conversation. "I DO love Will."

"But not like you love me," Cassandra was almost in aggravated tears. "I know what I'm talking about, Shelby! You don't connect with him like you and I do; I just sat out there and watched you guys all night! You didn't stare at _his_ ass every ten minutes; you stared at _mine_, like Santana did, but with actual emotion, not just want. I can tell by the way you dance with me. By how adorably nervous you were about things tonight, which I obviously just fucked up for you, but it's okay, because you love me and I know you're not mad, you're just pretending to be so you can drop the act."

Shelby opened her mouth to protest, but Cassandra just kept rambling on, ever so passionately. As she did so, Shelby's heart pounded faster and faster, her eyes flickering from Cassandra's beautiful hazel eyes, to her lips which were moving fervently, to her hair, which cascaded in gorgeous blonde locks down her shoulders. This time she couldn't just scold herself and tell herself to stop. It was unavoidable how much she wanted Cassandra.

_Will. Will's outside._

_ But she's right. You think you love Will, but you don't connect as well as you and Cass. You didn't stare at his ass all night; you didn't seek him for comfort when you were nervous. Admit it, Shelby. You were nervous and you wanted Cassandra to hold you and tell you it would be alright. You wanted her to kiss you and tell you to relax, not Will. Not anymore._

She forced the tears back and swallowed the huge dry lump in her throat, feeling sore. Cassandra continued her speech.

"You can't have sex with him, can you?"

"What makes you so—"

"Because you're thinking of me?"

"How the hell would you know—"

"Because I've been the exact same way. I almost hooked up with Brody Weston the other night; couldn't go through with it. Because I was afraid of saying YOUR name, Shelby, and I know you feel the same because _I_ feel like that, and you're doing everything I'm doing. Everything's falling into place—are you just going to shove fate aside and keep pretending you can have a happier life with Schuester? We belong together, Corcoran, and if that's not okay with you—"

At this point, after ignoring the comment about Brody, Shelby was standing so close to Cassandra that their legs were intertwined. Cass sitting on the bed, Shelby standing; both staring into each others' eyes.

"Please, Cassie." Shelby finally let a tear fall, against her will. Her barriers were breaking, she realized. She hadn't cried in over three years, and Cassandra was the one to make her do it. What scared her most was that everything Cassandra was claiming was true, and there was nothing Shelby could do to stop it. No matter how much she tried to tell herself she loved Will. No matter how many times she lay in bed with Will and kissed him goodnight. Every night she secretly wished it was Cassandra next to her, and not Will.

Not Will.

"Please stop talking," Shelby finished her plea. Another tear fell, and then another, and before she could establish boundaries or force herself not to do so, she collapsed into Cassandra's lap and cried. Tears poured down her face, blocking her sight, so she shut her eyes tightly and Cassandra held her, shushing her, promising that it was okay. She rocked Shelby back and forth like a little girl, and Shelby never wanted to let go.

She wept for her pain, and her confusion. She cried because she was afraid, and because she didn't know what to do anymore. She took comfort in Cassandra's touch, and Cassandra kissed the top of her head, whispering for her to calm down. Reminding her that Will was on the other side of the door, still waiting.

Shelby sniffed, and looked at Cass with a mascara stained face and watery eyes. "Now who's talking too much about Will?" she managed to joke. Cassandra had to laugh, in spite of herself, and she helped Shelby wipe off the mascara before they both went back out into the living room.

Will sat, patiently waiting on the couch, lost, if not overly tired. "So…what's going on?" he asked, turning to face his girlfriend, whose face was still red from crying. "Are you okay, Shelby? You look really upset…"

"I'm fine, Will." It was an easy enough lie for a woman—the most common one to tell. "Cassie's going to stay here tonight, because I don't trust her going home by herself, and she's very sorry for her outburst. It won't happen again, right Cass?"

Cassandra and Shelby exchanged a look, promising a talk with each other later, before Cassandra decided that yeah, she'd play along. "That's right. I am sorry. I have fits sometime. I'm a struggling alcoholic."

Shelby raised an eyebrow in surprise—As far as she knew, Cassandra didn't admit her addiction to just anyone. She was being this open and kind for Shelby.

Will nodded. "It's okay. I get it. I have a friend named April Rhodes, and she's a lot worse off than you are, so I've had experience." He gave a smile and Cassandra returned it.

"Well, I'll take the couch, and you two love birds can have Shelby's bed, and everything will be great come morning, okay?" Cass proposed.

Shelby had to think. She felt horrible making Cass sleep on the couch (especially when deep down she really wanted her to be in bed with her, and for Will to be the one on the couch), but what other alternative did she have, really?

"Okay," she finally answered. "You sure you'll be alright out here?"

"Don't worry about me, Corcoran. I'm tough, I can handle a couch." She winked and Shelby went to her room to grab a comforter, throwing it towards Cass upon her return to the living room.

. . .

"You sure you're alright, Shelby?" Will asked, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. She couldn't help but notice that she didn't feel that wave of electricity she got when Cassandra touched her shoulder—or any part of her body.

"It's just…been a long day. A long night," Shelby said with a soft yawn.

Will kissed her temple and before she could accept it, in her mind, she wished for Cassie's sweet woman kisses instead. "Get some sleep," he suggested. "If you want to talk about it in the morning, we can."

"Goodnight, Will."

"Goodnight, Shelby."

But she didn't sleep. She couldn't. Not when she ached for the woman just waiting in the living room. She knew that Cassie wasn't sleeping, either, but there was no way to get out there without waking Will. Therefore, she stared at the wall for five hours before actually crashing, just thinking about how she was going to deal with life now.

She couldn't stay with Will when she was feeling this way for Cassandra. It wasn't fair to him, and it wasn't fair to Cass. But she couldn't hurt him, because whether she had feelings for him as a lover or not, she still loved him. So maybe he would break up with her first? But that would hurt, too, for some odd reason.

_Ugh. I'll figure it out tomorrow._ She growled to herself, and on that note, finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Review review review! xD**


	5. Good For Nothing

**..not much to say. I hope you like the chapter as much as I do :) tell me what you think! **

**~~hayleynymphadora**

* * *

Chapter 5: Good for Nothing

The women walked back to Shelby's apartment after all classes were over. It was Will's last day in New York, and Cassandra promised to act cordial, for Shelby, if for no one else. They laughed from their conversation and Shelby opened the apartment door. Will was sitting at the table, a plate of cookies in front of him, and warm tea waiting for the two women. Shelby couldn't help but smile.

"Hey," she greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, (which puzzled him, because Shelby always kissed on the lips.). "What's all this?"

"It's a welcome home, since I had nothing else to do today." He grinned, those adorable dimples showing.

"You could've come to class and chilled," Cassandra suggested.

"But I wanted to surprise you,"

"You've been surprising me an awful lot this week," Shelby pointed out, blowing on her tea before taking a sip. It was perfect, with honey and lemon, just the way she liked it.

"Well we only have so much time together, so why not?" he countered with a shrug. Shelby had to giggle as she broke off a piece of the cookie and ate it. It only took seconds before her throat started to close. She gasped.

Cassandra moved towards her with a start. "You okay, Babe?"

Shelby's eyes widened, and she tried to respond, "I-can't-breathe-" she gasped for air.

"Schue, what the HELL did you put in those cookies?"

He remembered quickly. "Oh shit."

Cassandra shoved a bite in her mouth and groaned. "You put CINNAMON in these? What a fantastic surprise!" her sarcasm was so sharp it could have cut Will in half.

"I completely forgot she was allergic, I—"

"You dumbass!" Cassandra rushed to Shelby's purse and started rummaging through it. "You're supposed to be her boyfriend; don't you know these things about her? Or do you not care that she might die?!"

Will ignored her. "Shelby. Shelby, look at me. Breathe. Inhale, exhale. DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK, PLEASE YOU HAVE TO TRY."

Cassandra spun around, helpless. "WHERE THE HELL IS HER EPIPEN?!" she yelled at him.

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"

"MEN!" Cassandra growled. "They're good for NOTHING. GO HAIL A TAXI."

"I'm staying with her." His tone was cold.

"JUST DO IT." Cassandra's glare was so threatening he was afraid that if he didn't leave she'd attack him when his back was turned later on. Besides, he had to help Shelby somehow. He rushed out the door of the apartment and headed down the stairs, out the main door and towards the street. Meanwhile, Cassandra scooped Shelby up in her arms and held her close.

"Try to breathe, Corcoran. You're a fighter. You're MY fighter. You have to try. I know it's hard, and I know it hurts, but FIGHT." She coached Shelby as she grabbed her cell and slammed the apartment door shut behind her, towards the road where Will had a taxi waiting.

Cass jumped in, resting Shelby in her lap and not caring about seatbelts and Will got into the other side. "Step on it!" Cassandra barked. "The closest hospital." When the driver hesitated for just a second, Cassandra grew impatient. "GO you idiot, she's dying!"

He was driving, at this point, but much too slow for her liking. "I don't care about the damn speed limit, just hurry up!" she was so nervous and frightened that she didn't know what else to do besides be a bitch to help Shelby live. If it would help Shelby…then maybe things would be alright. But she wouldn't stop trying. She wasn't about to let her best friend die. She wasn't going to let her lover escape so easily, even if she didn't know if she reciprocated the feelings.

"Shelby, keep breathing." Shelby's eyes got wider, growing with tears of frustration and trepidation as she shook her head. Cassandra smacked her face, lightly. "Breathe, damn it, do NOT give up on me, Babe, you hear me? You're too important. You're too precious. You're too worth it. Breathe."

Shelby tried and struggled and Cass hit her lightly again. "Breathe. Now. Stay with me."

This time Shelby tried harder and almost got a full breath in.

"Good girl, keep going."

They couldn't get to the hospital fast enough. Everything during their arrival was a blur, not only for Shelby but for Cassandra and Will as well. The paramedics and other doctors (at least, that's what they seemed to be to Cassandra, but she was a little too focused on Shelby staying alive to care) took hold of Shelby and pulled her away from them. Cassandra let a tear fall and she cursed, staring at the ground and biting her lip, running a hand through her already tangled hair.

This was Will's fault. Why were men so ignorant? Why were they so forgetful and careless?! If Shelby died…

_No. Don't think like that. She's not going to die…_

She turned on Will. "Didn't you make those cookies at Shelby's? How'd you even get your hands on cinnamon?!"

"I went out and bought groceries so I could bake and make dinner…"

"And it never once occurred to you that hey, she probably shouldn't ingest something that she's deathly allergic to?!"

"I forgot! We've been away from each other for a really long time, and—"

"That is the WORST excuse I've ever heard in my entire life! Do you even care about her?!"

"Of course I care—"

"Then be a man, admit you were wrong, and act like you care. Because you're doing a horrible job of showing it right now. She might be dying in there, and it's your fault. I don't want to hear excuses. Because if she were mine, I would NEVER forget something that might be fatal to her, no matter how far apart we were, no matter how long we were apart. Do you get how serious this is?"

"How would you know she was allergic, anyways? Why do you care so much?" he demanded, turning the conversation.

"We've been best friends since high school, Won't. I obviously know her better than you do, in any case."

Will was taken aback with no response to give. He was filled with so much emotion that he couldn't express, so he just sat down in the waiting room whilst Cassandra paced, heatedly, pissed, frustrated, scared, and heartbroken.

No man should ever treat a woman like that. She didn't care if he baked the cookies to surprise her, or if it was out of love, or whatever. It wasn't worth killing her, whether he remembered about the allergy or not. That's not something you just forget. She got that everyone made mistakes, but ones like this were just too big. Her Shelby couldn't breathe. Her Shelby was in pain, and she was scared, and alone, and that was just unacceptable.

Cassandra wrung her hands in worry. She had never been this upset about anything. Not when her parents got divorced, not when her first boyfriend kicked her out and left her on the streets after stomping on her heart, and not even when she screwed up and became "The Biggest Train Wreck in Broadway History". Shelby was more than all of that. Shelby was something special, and she loved her. She really did, whether Shelby loved her back or not. It wasn't just a crush anymore, Cassandra had to realize, or she wouldn't have been as distraught as she was.

Hours went by, and then what felt like a century. Cassandra and Will didn't say a word to each other, exchanging glares every few minutes.

Will felt absolutely horrible and he held his face in his hands, praying, hoping that his Shelby was okay. It was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life, and how could he possibly make excuses for it? Cassandra was right; it was a foolish and stupid thing to do. Now Shelby was struggling to survive, and none of it would have happened if he had remembered that damn allergy.

He decided that he and Shelby needed to be together more often. But she had her life here, and he couldn't leave all of the kids in Glee in Ohio. He had actually come to like the new kids, even if they weren't as impressionable and lovable as the originals. Besides, he made a vow to help them, as he did the original glee club, and he wasn't going to give up now. He couldn't, and he wasn't about to ask her to uproot herself, so…what was left? He loved her, he wasn't about to leave, especially not when she was about to die.

_She's not going to die! The doctors will get things under control. Just take a breath. Relax. Don't look at Cassandra again; she'll only make you regret living._

He needed to breathe. _Why should I be able to, if Shelby can't? _He questioned himself. He held his breath until his body forced him to take in oxygen and sighed. Suffocating himself wasn't going to help Shelby.

. . . .

_Come on babe, why don't we paint the town, and all that jazz?_

Rachel unlocked her phone and answered it. "Ms. July?"

"Rachel, thank god, this is the third time I've called you!"

"I'm sorry, Kurt and I were—"

"Don't care." Cassandra cut her off. "We're at the hospital; your mom had an allergic reaction. How fast can you get here?"

Rachel almost dropped the phone, clearly shocked. Her mom hadn't had an allergic reaction in years—the only thing she was allergic to was cinnamon, and that was easy enough to stay away from, right?

"Is she okay?"

"She's with the doctors. Answer my question."

Rach turned to Kurt in a panic. "Mom had cinnamon; she's in the hospital, how close are we?"

Kurt gave Rachel an estimate before she answered into the phone, "Maybe ten minutes?"

"Do it." Was Cassandra's response before she hung up.

They did.

. . . .

Rachel stood heartbroken and scared in the waiting room, making her way towards Cassandra and Will, who were both staring at the floor, seemingly thinking hard about something, completely ignoring each others' existence. Rach couldn't really bring herself to understand the awkward tension between Cassandra and Will- that's existed since the two met, it appeared. She had to consider, even for a moment, what Santana had said a few nights before, but quickly talked herself out of it. It just wasn't happening.

"Ms. July?"

Cassandra looked up, her mascara running, and she swore, quickly trying to fix it considering she was in the presence of a student. Rachel paid no mind; a few tears of her own sliding down her cheeks. Rachel, however, didn't care if she showed emotion to others. She didn't have such a strong wall built up.

Her voice broke when she spoke, causing Will to look up with pity in his eyes. "Can you tell me what happened to my mom?" she begged. Kurt had a hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly, and Cassandra decided to drop her bitch-mode for the day to help her best friend's daughter relax.

She sighed, "Come here, Rachel."

It was the first time she didn't call her Schwimmer or Berry or Ohio, and Rachel obeyed, dragging Kurt with her.

Cassandra told her the whole story. "…and now we're stuck in here while we wait for those slow ass doctors to tell us if she's okay. It's been HOURS." She emphasizes the word, turning her head in the direction of a doctor walking by, who gave her an odd look. With an irritated sigh, she turned back to Rachel.

Rachel seemed confused. "I don't get it. Did you buy the cookies, or…?"

"No, Won't made them."

"Won't?"

"Will."

"WILL?!" Rachel stood out of pure hatred, spinning on the spot to glare at her old teacher, who stood, feeling guilty and expecting what was coming to him, knowing he deserved every word, if not more. "Mr. Schue, how could you?! The ONE thing she was allergic to, you couldn't have remembered?! How long have you been dating her? Yeah. A long time. I don't care HOW LONG you've been apart, that was absolutely ridiculously stupid of you! What if she di—"

She choked on the word, not bringing herself to say it. "UGH I hate you right now! No man, no matter how ignorant or forgetful, should EVER do that to his girlfriend! She's my mother! She's Cassandra's best friend. If she…you're not the only one who'll lose her!" Rachel had tears streaming so quickly down her face now that she couldn't even attempt to control them and she turned into Kurt's shoulder, letting them fall. He kindly pulled her into a warm embrace, soothing her and rubbing her back.

"That was a rotten mistake, Mr. Schue." He agreed, a single tear falling from his own eyes.

"Take me away from here, Kurt," Rachel's words were muffled in his shoulder as she spoke. "I can't even look at him right now."

Will's tears were full of guilt, Cass's were hot and angry, not to mention nervous. Kurt's were sympathy for everyone, and Rachel's were utter depression and frustration. No one spoke for a long time.

About two hours later, Rachel's tears had finally stopped flowing. Cassandra just got back from the bathroom—she tried to fix her make up without much success, but at this point she was just happy she didn't look like a raccoon anymore. Kurt was on his phone, texting Blaine about the situation and telling Santana about everything—she was on her way, as was Brody, to Cassandra's dismay. Will continued to stare at the floor, speechless, pissed at himself, and scared.

Finally, a doctor came into the waiting room, holding a clipboard filled with papers. Her expression was less than comforting for Cassandra, who was the first to stand.

"This was a close one, I'm not going to lie," the doctor said, her voice low. "But, she is recovering, and she's recovering fairly well. She can't talk yet, and her throat might be sore for the next couple of days, but she can probably go home tonight. Just know, that if she ever has cinnamon again, there's a ninety percent chance she won't make it back alive."

"Can I go see her?" Rachel, Cassandra, and Will all asked at the same time.

"One at a time, please, let's not overwhelm her. Her heart's still beating really quickly. We're in the process of relaxing her."

Cassandra bit her lip and stepped back, dragging Will a little roughly with her nails digging into his shirt, back as well. Will shot her an irritated look. "She wants Shelbs to be calm, send Rachel in first." Cassandra explained.

Reluctantly, he agreed, and Rachel left, escaping to the room the doctor directed her to. Her mom was resting on the hospital bed, in one of those gowns; an IV hooked up to her. She smiled at Rachel when she saw her and Rachel smiled back, a happy tear falling from her brown eyes. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Baby. How are you?"

Rachel scoffed. "Better than you," she answered.

Shelby had to laugh. "I'm doing better than I look, trust me."

"Does your throat hurt as badly as the doctor said it would?"

Shelby nodded. "I won't be singing for a while, baby girl."

Rachel looked at the floor for a moment, breaking eye contact and wiping her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mom. Will's an idiot."

"He's not," Shelby whispered. "He made a mistake."

"A fatal mistake!" Rachel said. "Don't tell me you forgive him so easily? You're in a hospital, Mom! You almost died!"

"But I didn't, Rach." Shelby tried to smile. "I'm right here."

"Luckily. But if he makes that same mistake again, you'll die, Mom. That's not okay."

Shelby didn't answer, because what could she possibly say?

Finally, after a while of silence, Shelby cleared her throat, (which hurt her so bad it almost brought tears to her eyes) and said, "Cassie got me here."

Rachel didn't say anything.

"Cassie brought me here, and Will just stood there, confused and scared and feeling sorry. But she acted, instead of him." Her voice was rough, and she felt like someone broke a mirror and shoved the shards of glass down her throat, making sure they scratched up every surface they could, but she kept going. "She smacked me and told me I had to breathe. That I had to live, and Will just sat there," she choked on tears. "He sat there and felt bad, but did nothing to act on it. Cassandra saved me. If she hadn't been there…"

"He doesn't deserve you, Mom." Rachel came to a conclusion. "Leave him now, before it's too late. Things just aren't working between you two anymore."

"I know," Shelby whispered.

Rachel stiffened in concern at her mother's response. She didn't think that convincing her to leave Will would be so easy, and besides that, her mother never _ever_ took her advice. _'Have her and Will been fighting?'_ she wondered. _'What am I missing?'_

She kept going back to the fact that Ms. July took action before Will did. Bitchy, heartless, Crazy July! What made her and Shelby so close?! _'Sure, they're best friends, but shouldn't the boyfriend be the one most concerned? The first to help his woman? Or was he just intimidated by Ms. July's presence? I know how she can be sometimes…'_

Rachel sat down on the edge of her mother's bed and her mom played with the girl's long hair while thinking, for a long time.

"So now what?" Rachel wondered.

"I don't know, baby girl," Shelby's voice was so rough, it pained Rachel just to hear it.

They sat in silence for a moment while Shelby thought about her relationship and eventually she just sighed.

"Long distance relationships never work, Rach." She decided. "Don't put yourself through it." She took a deep breath. "Can you send Will in for me, baby?" she asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Mom, don't do it in this condition. Wait until you're better—"

"It's been a long time coming, Rachel, it can't wait any longer—"

"Two days?" Rachel pleaded.

Shelby shook her head. "He'll be gone soon. This needs to be done face to face."

Resentfully, Rachel walked out of the room and went to get him. When she made it out to the waiting room, she found Cassandra and Will fighting again. She stood behind the wall where they couldn't see her so she could listen—she wanted to see how he would defend himself when she wasn't there.

"What about _her?_ What about what _she_ wants?" Cassandra demanded. "Are you two even working anymore? Let's be honest."

"Our relationship doesn't concern you, Cassandra." His tone was bitter and rude—Rachel had only ever heard him use that tone with Sue Sylvester: his sworn enemy.

Cass scoffed. "When your relationship involves my best friend in the hospital—"

"It was an accident! Besides that, are we really talking about friendship here? Les-be-honest."

Rachel's mouth dropped. So it wasn't just Santana that suspected something was going on. There was a loud, echoing crack and it seemed to Rachel as if Cass smacked Will, hard. It was something she wished she could have seen. After a moment of silence between the two of them, Will spoke up, his voice accusing and low.

"Are you in love with her?" he asked.

Rachel held her breath in order to hear her teacher's response, but there was none.

"Let it go, Cassandra. She's not into you like that, and she never will be."

"You obviously don't know a thing about her, then."

Rach had to bite her lip to keep from gasping out loud. Was Cassandra insinuating that Shelby had feelings for her, too, or that she was going to convince her to? At this point she couldn't just sit back and listen. She stormed out from behind the wall and demanded, "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Cass spun around with a start. "God _damn it,_ Schwimmer! Do you ever mind your own business?!" she looked exasperated and ready to hit someone (preferably Will again).

"My mother is my business, I would say," Rachel gained an attitude. There was no way in hell she was going to allow Cassandra and her Mother to date. It wasn't happening. Them being friends was one thing, but this… "Does she know?"

"There's nothing for her to know! I'm not in love with your mother! I'm not even gay, Schwimmer!"

"Then what the hell is all of this you're saying to Will?" she finally felt that calling him Mr. Schue wasn't okay anymore.

"I hate the man, Berry. I'm getting that point across and getting him off my chest, I thought you were on my side for this one? Shelby told me that you thought we were sleeping together? Who the hell put _that_ idea into that creepy little head of yours?"

"The fact that you two were in bed together—"

"Do you never crash at anyone's house? Do you have no friends?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head and Will just watched the show, clearly happy that the anger was no longer directed towards him. Rachel caught his relaxed expression and said, "Don't look so smug, Schuester. Mom wants to see you."

After that was said, all tension between the two women seemed to subside. Will left the room and Cassandra looked at Rachel, her eyebrows raised, her eyes wide. "Is she leaving him?" she asked when he was out of hearing range.

Rachel nodded. "She said they aren't working anymore and that long distance relationships never work so don't try it."

"Amen to that." Cassandra threw her hands up and started to walk away, but Rachel stepped towards her and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Hey," Rach said softly.

Cass turned around, expecting another blow about her love for Shelby.

"Thank you, for saving her."

Cassandra looked at Rachel, clearly surprised. "Of course. I wasn't just going to let her die, or—"

Rachel cut her off with a tight hug and Cass didn't know what to do with herself or how to respond, so she just let Rachel hold her, patting her back lightly, feeling pathetic and amused. When Rachel regained her composure, she backed away from her teacher, trying to avoid her awkward gaze.

Before anything else could happen between the two of them, Kurt, Santana, and Brody made their way towards them. Apparently while Rachel was in talking to Shelby they had gone down to the cafeteria.

"Hey, is Shelby better?" Kurt asked, clearly worried, making his way towards Rachel.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah. Her throat is horrible, but other than that she's okay. They'll be letting her out soon…" she trailed off when she spotted her mother and Will walking arm in arm towards her and the rest of the group.

"Sooner than we'd expect," Santana said, with a smile. "Welcome back, Ms. Corcoran."

Shelby smiled back. "Thanks, Santana."

It was the first time Cassandra had heard her talk since the "accident" and she wanted to cry the second she heard it. It was so rough, and sounded so forced—pained. Her baby was hurt, and the one to blame still had her arm, looking smug and oh-so-proud. She wanted to hit him so badly… Wasn't Shelby supposed to be dumping him?!

Cass welcomed Shelby with a careful but big hug. "How're you holding up, Corcoran?" she asked; grateful tears stung the back of her eyes.

"I'm alive, because of you." Shelby got the words out, slowly and just barely, but out. It broke Cassandra's heart—shattered it to pieces. She must have been in so much pain…

"No, babe. You're alive because of you. Because you're strong."

"Thank you," Shelby moved back, away from the hug, though Cassandra wished she hadn't. She managed a,

"You're welcome. Try not to let it happen again."

"I promise," her voice broke and she pulled her head into her arm in a fit of coughs and Cassandra cringed inwardly. Will let go of Shelby's arm, patting her back lightly and rubbing soft circles.

_What the hell did he do to deserve that?!_ Cass wondered. _He's the one who put her in that state! Did HE help her survive?! Why is he still here? I need to be kicking his ass and telling him never to talk to my girl again…_

"I'm going to take her home now," Will said, softly. "Thank you all, for staying here for her."

_Where the hell else am I going to go when you put the love of my life in the hospital? And what makes you so sure that YOU get to take her home?!_

"I'm going with you," Cassandra announced.

Will scoffed. "Right. Like that's going to work."

"At least I won't feed her cinnamon toast for breakfast." Cass shot back.

"At least she _wants_ to sleep in bed with _me._"

"I am NOT in love with her!" Cass's face turned red. "But if I were at least I wouldn't kill her with cookies!"

"You—guys—stop it." Shelby's voice was low and it broke in between words. "Both of you- are coming with me-because Will has no where-else to go and-Cassandra is always-welcome."

"Don't hurt yourself, Shelbs." Cassandra said in a soothing voice.

"Stop—arguing—with each—other."

"We will, I promise." Cass glared at the floor as she said so; hating Will's parents for making him exist.

Hugs were exchanged between Rachel and Kurt and Santana and eventually the three adults made it back to Shelby's apartment in one piece. Cassandra took over supporting Shelby and had her by the arm, walking her into the apartment and Shelby shrugged away once they got inside.

"My throat hurts—I can walk—just fine—by myself." She stormed into the kitchen and got down a glass for honey lemon tea. Cassandra ran a hand through her long blonde hair and sighed.

"I'm just trying to help you—"

"I don't need—help with what—I'm capable of—doing."

"I know. You don't have to chastise me about it."

Will walked in closely behind them, putting his coat on the table and spotting Shelby with the glass in her hands.

"Hey, do you need some help with—"

"Back off!" Shelby growled, throwing her into another coughing fit and she practically collapsed against the counter, her hand clutching where her lungs are. Out of habit, Cassandra and Will were immediately on either side of her, ready to support her in any way they could. Shelby, however, was not so accommodating. She shoved them both out of the way, managing a,

"Just give—me some—space!" and rushed into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Cass let out an irritated yell and threw herself onto the couch, remembering a time not so long ago when she and Shelby crashed there. Shelby's arms were wrapped around her, their hands together all night—their bodies so close in each others' embrace. She shivered. Why couldn't things be like that again? Will. It was Will.

Speaking of the devil, he walked towards her and grabbed handfuls of his own hair.

"We broke up," he admitted.

This comment caught Cassandra off guard. "Oh? I thought the two of you were—"

"We were. But things just weren't working between us anymore. We live too far away. The passion's gone."

"I'm sorry," Cassandra didn't look up from her interest in the black rug on the floor.

Will had the gull to laugh, reproachfully. "No you're not. Now you get to have her."

"For the last damn time, Schuester, I am not in love with Shelby."

"You are," Will's tone was quiet. "You might be in denial about it, but you are. It's so noticeable, and if you think that Rachel's going to be able to convince herself otherwise for much longer than you're kidding yourself even more. She's a bright girl."

"She hates you for what you did, and so do I."

"I hate myself for it, so I can't say I really blame you. But I can blame you for our break up. The passion's only gone because she's hot for you now."

A strong blush flooded Cassandra's face as she continued to stare, a hard gaze, at that stupid black carpet.

"You think you can just take her out of my life? You're wrong. She isn't yours to take—"

A knock at the door startled them both, and Cassandra snapped her head to life, turning to see Rachel and Santana walking into the room.

"Schwimmer," Cassandra almost seemed relieved. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Mom?" Rachel wondered.

"Sleeping," Will didn't know if he was telling the truth or not, but he wouldn't be able to stand it if he went into her room and saw her in tears, so he figured it was a good alternative.

Santana walked forward, holding something out to Cassandra. "You left your jacket at the hospital," she gave her a little wink. "Thought you might want it back."

Cassandra smirked when she took it. It was really Shelby's jacket, and it still smelled like her. "Thanks," she said, not knowing how else to respond as she shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

Will didn't seem to look too pleased with the wink Santana gave Cassandra. In fact, it seemed to be what drove him over the edge.

"Stop flirting with her, Santana, she likes someone else."

Santana stepped back, her eyebrows raised. "Excuse me?"

"She's in love with someone else." Will's voice hardened. "So don't even bother trying to woo her."

"Another girl?" Santana couldn't help but ask.

"A woman, yes. Why don't you tell her yourself, Cassandra?" Will pretended to be gracious about it and Cassandra lost her mind. She flung herself towards him in anger, wrapping her fingers tightly around his neck as she slammed him up against the wall, a picture frame smashing to the floor and breaking with a crash.

In her bedroom, Shelby was laying on her bed, hot, angry tears pouring down her face. Why did it have to come to this? Why couldn't they all just be civil about love? They were no longer in high school, or college. They were adults, and if she loved Cassandra than god dammit she should be allowed to love Cassandra without Will having a say in it. There was too much jealousy involved and it was tearing them all apart. She just needed some time alone. Time to sort things out and-

CRASH.

She jumped, confused, and hurried out the bedroom door to find Cassandra and Will trying to kill each other, Rachel and Santana trying to pull them apart.

"What—the—HELL?!" Shelby rasped out, a short fit of coughs following before she grabbed a very pissed off Cassandra by the arms and helped Santana drag her back towards the corner of the room while Rachel tried to reason with Will.

"Fighting her isn't going to win you my mother's favor, Will. You need to relax, before you make things worse—"

"I'm done! I'm sick of him! Get him out of my sight!" Cassandra practically growled, fighting Santana's grasp.

Shelby smacked Cassandra, hard enough to get her attention. "You need—to stop, Cassie, please—"

"Why does he deserve you?!" Cassandra complained.

"I broke up—with him!"

"But not for me!"

"No."

Cassandra continued to reach out for Will so she could strike him again. There was a bruise on her shoulder where Will smashed her back against the wall, (after she smashed him the first time) and Will had marks forming around his neck.

"Cassie—please!" Shelby's voice broke in what was practically a broken-hearted squeal and Cassandra stopped instantly, her heart shattering when she heard Shelby's plea. She panted and looked down at the floor, ripping her arms away from Santana before picking Shelby's jacket up and holding it close to her.

Shelby walked to the middle of the room and glared at both of them.

"Enough is enough. I want—you out. Both—of you!"

Cassandra's eyes filled immediately. "Shelbs, I—"

"Now!"

Will walked towards Shelby, wrapping his arms around her. "Baby, don't do this—"

"Get out before—I call the—cops." She threatened. "And I am NOT—your baby."

Cassandra left, slamming the door in Will's face as he was fairly close behind her.

Shelby collapsed to the floor, holding her head in her hands, annoyed, in pain, and done.

* * *

**Review! xoxo**


	6. Make No Mistake, She's Mine

**Hope you like this chapter! I suggest you listen to Make No Mistake, She's Mine and Sway beforehand, just to make things a little more emotional. Other than than, just read and review as usual :)**

**~~hayleynymphadora**

* * *

Chapter 6: Make No Mistake, She's Mine.

Rachel went to Shelby's side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder even though Shelby refused to look up. Santana stared at the door hesitantly before seemingly making some kind of spur of the moment decision and walking towards it. Rachel stared, concerned.

"Santana?"

Santana waved her off. "I'll text you," she promised, shutting the door tightly behind her. Hopefully Cassandra wasn't too far away already… After spending a few moments outside, Santana cursed herself for never getting the woman's number. She had to at least make sure Cass was okay. Though. She knew how she was feeling—she could make her feel better. Five minutes later and she was close to giving up before she saw a flash of familiarly long blonde hair. When the blonde woman turned, the fact that she was Cassandra was confirmed and Santana started towards her.

"Hey!" Santana called, at a half-jog in able to catch up. "Cassandra, wait!"

"Will was right, Santana, I'm not into you—"

"Just let me talk," Santana demanded, putting a hand on Cassandra's arm in able to stop her. Cassandra shrugged her away harshly.

"Get your hands off of me." She instructed.

"Okay," Santana threw her hands up in the air in an "I'm innocent" gesture. "I'll keep my hands off of you. Is there somewhere we can go to talk?"

Cassandra scoffed. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?"

Santana shrugged, pulling her jacket close to her. "You stopped," she said.

After a moments' contemplation, Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Come on," she sighed, leading the way down the street. Santana followed, gratefully.

. . .

"I'm sorry, mom," Rachel said, sitting in the living room with Shelby. Twenty minutes after Santana left, Shelby finally moved to the couch and Rachel talked her into drinking some tea.

Shelby laughed bitterly. "Why, baby? None of this—is your fault."

Rach ignored the comment. "Jealousy makes people do crazy things sometimes."

"Jealous of—what?" Shelby demanded, setting her tea on the side table and hugging her legs close to her.

"Of each other! Will got more attention from you and Ms. July didn't like it. Because she's crushing on you. In love with you."

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Are we going to—have this—conversation again?! We're best friends—not lovers."

"But mom, she—"

"No, Rach. No—more." Shelby begged.

Unwillingly, Rachel thought up a better subject.

"Do you want something for your throat?" she asked.

Shelby shook her head, gesturing to her honey-lemon tea. "This is fine."

"You know…" Rachel started, and then decided against it, thinking her mom might get mad for starting another conversation about Cassandra. But it was too late to back track.

"What?" Shelby wondered, her eyes curious.

Rachel swallowed. "Don't get mad…"

"It's never good—when you start—a sentence like—that." Shelby smiled at her daughter, only half teasing.

"I was just thinking that Ms. July probably wouldn't mind if you took a few days off of work to reintroduce yourself to yourself—"

Shelby was already shaking her head no, mid sentence. "No—Rachel. My throat is—hurt. The rest of—me is—completely fine—"

"You can barely get a full sentence out!" Rachel fought back, sitting up straighter, ever-so-dramatically.

"I don't need to—talk to—dance."

"What about to teach?" Rachel seemed desperately concerned, which made Shelby feel bad. She patted the spot next to her on the couch and Rachel, hesitantly, agreed to sit with her mother.

Shelby ran her hands through Rachel's hair, focusing on braiding and unbraiding it so she didn't have to think about anything hard. "I'm fine, baby girl." She promised. "Don't worry—about me… Everything's—fine."

After a few moments of silence, Rachel couldn't hold the question in any longer. Her voice was soft as she asked, "Are you ever going to forgive them?"

Shelby stopped unbraiding Rachel's hair and lost focus, forced to think about what just happened. Finally, believing Rach needed a response, she gave the most honest answer she felt she could give.

"I don't know, baby girl. I don't—know."

. . .

Cass reached up into her kitchen cupboard and pulled down a half empty bottle of wine and two glasses, turning back around to look at Santana with a smirk as she filled both of the glasses to the brim.

"Rachel told me you quit," Santana said in wonder, an eyebrow raised, and a smirk on her lips.

Cassandra gave a wink back, swallowing a mouthful of wine before saying, "I won't tell, if you don't."

Santana nodded and took a drink herself. An awkward moment of silence later, Cassandra downed the rest of her glass, making Santana feel pathetic for having only just started in on hers. Cass was the first to speak.

"Now did you just come here because you knew I'd get out wine, or are you going to talk to me?" she said it looking pissed, but her voice was soft. Heartbroken. Tired.

Santana turned serious, and Cassandra could feel the tension in the room change immediately. It made her feel uncomfortable—the only person she was ever used to having a serious conversation with was Shelby. Oh, Shelby.

"Look, Cassandra," Santana took another drink, and then set her wine down. "I know how you feel."

Cass scoffed. "I see. This is one of _those _speeches…"

"You're in love with her and you're afraid she doesn't love you back. I was in the same boat for two years, and I know it's hell and you're sinking, but there isn't much you can do when—"

"She _does_ have feelings for me!" Cassandra cut her off, angrily.

"I know, it's easier to tell yourself that, but—"

"No, she really does." Cassandra's face was so grim that Santana knew she couldn't be kidding herself.

Santana almost dropped her glass (she had taken another sip of the wine), but recovered quickly. So Shelby Corcoran had a few dirty little secrets of her own? Santana never would have guessed that Shelby's personal life was so messed up, which brought her to another point.

"She just kicked you out of her house and threatened to call the police, Cassandra. That doesn't seem like reciprocating feelings to me. Stop me if I'm wrong, or way off track, but I've known her for a while, and if she's kicking you out, I don't see her meaning she wants to start a relationship with you."

Cassandra finished off the bottle of wine by herself, knocking her head back harshly. "I've known her a lot longer than you have, friend of Schwimmer. She's kicked me out before, we're best friends. We'll be fine."

"Have you ever seen her so distraught?" Santana challenged.

Cass thought about it. No, in truth, she had never seen Shelby so distraught before.

_But Corcoran's tough_, she smirked to herself _Give it a few days…_

It took another three glasses before Cassandra's head was buzzing in a comforting "now-I-don't-have-to-think-or-give-a-damn" way; something she was overjoyed about. Santana stuck with a solid two glasses, remembering that she had to find her way home, eventually.

The two of them sat in Cassandra's living room, on her couch. At this point they had stopped talking and just started staring at each other. Santana looked into Cassandra's beautiful hazel eyes and envied her oh-so-perfect eyebrows that she _had_ to pay good money for. Cassandra's eyes simply wandered; not exactly focused on any certain part of Santana, just trying to take in everything she could.

Slowly, they started to get closer to each other. Cass placed a hand on Santana's thigh and Santana didn't seem to object, so she moved closer yet, until their faces were inches apart. Just as Cass closed her eyes and their lips were about to touch, Santana pulled away, her thoughts stringing together logically again. Or, at least, in a more logical order than Cassandra's were.

Cassandra didn't _really_ want to kiss Santana. She didn't want anything to do with Santana, she was just hurt, drunk, and she wanted Shelby.

"Don't do this to yourself," Santana said at a whisper before clearing her throat and backing up to the opposite end of the big black couch. "You'll only regret it."

"I don't regret things," Cassandra defended herself.

"That's bullshit and even I know it. If what you said about Shelby is true, then this isn't fair to her."

Cassandra moved her hair so that it flowed down her back, exposing the front of herself to Santana. Her shirt was a low-cut V neck, and god did it do wonders…

"Shelby already made it clear. She didn't leave Won't so she could be with me."

Santana scoffed, forcing her eyes away from Cassandra's chest. "Are you really that gullible? Did you even _see_ the look on her face when she told you that? Ms. Corcoran's an amazing actress, but you should be able to tell when she's lying" she stood, getting ready to leave. "Look, July. You're hot, you're lonely, and you're drunk. Save it for Shelby or forever wish you had." She gave a final wink before walking out the front door, the lock clicking behind her.

A lock of hair fell into Cass's eyes and she blew it away, exasperated. What she really needed was some sleep, but there was no way in hell that was happening without Shelby there to hold her. It had just been too long of a day. Her clock said 3 a.m but her headache screamed later.

What was worse was she had to teach the next day. She groaned and stood, cracking her back as she stretched it and doing the same to her neck. For a moment, she thought about texting Shelby and telling her she didn't have to show up to classes tomorrow, but she thought better of it. Shelby would show up whether Cassandra told her not to or not. That's just how Shelby was. She was a fighter, and her excuse would be something along the lines of, "I can still dance, I just can't sing."

Her eyes fluttered shut for a few moments, but before she could crash on the couch she opened them in defeat. _I need to at least try to sleep…._ She decided, making her way to her bedroom and not even bothering to shut the door. She didn't feel like changing so she just took off her shirt and pants and crawled under the covers, pulling them close to her and pretending that Shelby was right next to her. It hurt to pretend.

. . .

Will was so pissed that he could barely function. It was five thirty in the morning and he already wanted to go back to bed. But maybe if he went into the studio before the other students got there, he could talk to Shelby. It never occurred to him how he would get Cassandra to leave the two of them alone for a few minutes—especially considering it was _her_ studio. His decision was too based on impulse to be able to think about things like that.

He left the hotel feeling even more irritated. His flight got canceled and now he would have to spend another day in the city, without Shelby, in a hotel room, alone. This was all Cassandra's fault and he could feel his blood boiling just thinking about it—therefore, decided it was better to just not think about it.

At some point he zoned out, and eventually he made it to the door of the studio. Taking a deep breath, he realized it was now or never. Shelby would be in there. Shelby was always in there. And he would apologize and wrap her into his arms in the biggest hug he could give. He would kiss her forehead and beg for forgiveness and she would give it to him because when has she ever denied him that? He swung the door open with a little more confidence than he started with but rolled his eyes when he discovered not Shelby, but Cassandra.

She was on the floor doing a split, her body reaching out in front of her, her arms outstretched. Her back was to Will, and he was about to just walk back out the door and pretend he never even attempted this not-very-well-thought-out-plan, but she must have heard the door open.

"Babe," she said, sounding grateful and moving so she could get up. "Corcoran, I'm so sorry about last night, I—"when she spun around her face went from apologetic to frustrated in a matter of milliseconds. "You. Won't. What the hell are you doing in my studio?"

Will swallowed, feeling angry. "I was looking for Shelby," the answer came out cold and it did not seem to please Cassandra. Will took a step back, forcing himself to remember that this was her territory, not his.

"She's not here," Cass pointed out the obvious and continued to stretch, her glare never escaping his eyes. She was showing that she had dominance, in this room, anyways.

"Is she coming?"

"I wouldn't know. Thanks to you she isn't talking to me. Thanks to you she isn't talking much to anyone, actually."

That struck a sour chord, and Will straightened his shoulders back, trying to keep the little bit of dignity he had left. Cassandra stood up straight as well, crossing her arms over her chest. "She doesn't want to see you," she said. "So get your ass out of my studio before she _does g_et here, because all you're going to do is put her in a bad mood and make her feel worse than she already is. Go home, Won't."

"She's mine," Will glared at Cassandra almost viciously. "Back off."

Cass was fed up. "That's it." She walked towards her sound system. "Won't, you tell your kids to sing about their feelings, right? Apparently it works for them. I don't like you, but I'll try it." She pressed play and glared at him, advancing towards him in pure loathing.

_"Don't call her up anymore,_

_ 'cause I don't wanna hear your voice,_

_ I don't wanna see your face answer her door,_

_ Make no mistake, she's mine. She's mine._

_ She's mine."_

Will knew the song, and took up his part with passion, knowing deep down that singing this wasn't going to change Shelby's mind. Shelby wasn't even there.

_"She only knows how I feel,_

_ I only know what she's like,"_

Cass joined in as her harmony came up, moving closer to Will as she grew angrier and angrier. He moved closer to her as well, the marks on his neck a reminder of last night. That just fueled Cassie more.

_"When she needs me, _

_ Oh how she needs me._

_ Deep in the night,_

_ Make no mistake,_

_ She's mine._

_ She's mine._

_ She's mine."_

Will shoved her backwards, but only hard enough to piss her off. She shoved him harder.

_"Don't get too close when you dance,_

_ 'Cause I don't wanna hear from my friends…_

_ You were out on the town…"_

_"There in her arms,"_ Cassandra closed her eyes, tears falling.

_"There in her arms,"_

_ "There in her arms,"_

_ "There in her arms..."_

_ "Don't include her in your dreams,"_ Cassandra sung this like it was a threat, her tear filled eyes threatening to spill over more and more with each word, her throat tightening because of her attempt to hold them back.

_ "I wanna be in her dreams,"_ Will challenged.

_ "'cause I don't wanna close my eyes."_

_ "Close my eyes,"_

_ "I don't wanna know where she goes," _they both sung in agony.

_ "Each night, when she leaves," _Cass continued alone.

_ "When she leaves,"_

They kept going together. _"Make no mistake, she's mine."_

_ "She's mine," _Will had Cassandra pressed against the wall, in irritation. She couldn't back up anymore.

_ "She's mine,"_

_ "She's mine."_

_ "Don't call her up anymore." _Cass sung.

_ "Don't call her up anymore," _Will joined as the song finished.

When the two had finished the song, Cassandra was breathless and frustrated, hot tears pouring down her face. She was being so unprofessional it hurt, and she was mad at herself for letting her guard down so easily. She was mad at herself for having a weakness—that weakness being Shelby. She had students coming in soon, she needed to pull herself together, and—

"Really—you two?!"

Cass spun around, startled, and saw Shelby, throwing her bag in the corner in fury.

"I can't believe—you're still—doing this. Even after everything—that happened last—night?!" being scolded by Shelby was like being beat by your father, or being told you aren't good enough by your idol. Cassandra shoved Will away from her and ran towards Shelby, her pleading eyes full of tears. "No! I don't want to—hear excuses, Cassie!" Shelby was past being mad at this point, speaking again before Cassandra even had the chance to open her mouth. "I'm sick of—this. Will—we have classes—get OUT."

"I love you, Shelby," Will declared.

"I don't care," Shelby's expression was stone cold, and Will stepped back, giving Cassandra one last irritated glance before going out the door for good. Shelby turned on Cassandra. "Don't give me anything. I don't –want to hear it. What are we—dancing to?"

"Babe, I—"

"What. Are. We. Dancing. To?" Shelby raised her eyebrows, daring Cassandra to continue what she was about to say. Cass swallowed, drying her tears, realizing defeat. It wasn't worth the pain.

"We're dancing to Fire. We have that down by now, right?"

Shelby nodded. "I think so. You're going to-have to sing all of it."

"It's a duet."

"Figure it out, Cassandra." She sounded annoyed, and Cass had to wonder what she did this time to deserve Shelby calling her Cassandra.

Cassandra. Not Cassie.

Cassandra swallowed. "How about Sway? That doesn't involve two singers. Do you know it?"

"Just do whatever you—want. I'll follow."

"Okay," Cassandra answered her softly, turning to walk towards her bag to put on her stilettos. She didn't notice that Shelby was right behind her. When she turned back around to go out onto the dance floor, she was surprised to see Shelby standing right in front of her. Ever so gently, Shelby placed a very light kiss on Cassandra's lips, quick and subtle, before she turned towards her own bag to put her own shoes on. Cassandra blushed and sighed inwardly. Maybe Shelby wasn't so mad after all. Maybe she just needed some alone time to figure things out.

She was very moody. Hell, maybe she was just on her period.

By the time the students shuffled into the room and began to warm up, Cassandra was doing an amazing job of hiding her feelings. She turned back into her controlling, bitchy self, in order to keep her own emotions at bay.

"Okay, Shelby and I are going to start off class with a final tango number to wrap up that lesson, so sit your asses down and pretend you enjoy it." She gave a wicked smile and took Shelby by the hands. Shelby suppressed a smirk as the music started, Cassandra singing every word by herself.

_"When marimba rhythms start to play,"_ she rolled her hips.

_"Dance with me,"_ she dipped Shelby down and swung her body around before pulling her up close, against her body.

_"Make me sway,"_ her voice was low and attractive, and it made Shelby feel horrible for being so rude earlier. "_Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore,"_ Shelby jumped up onto Cassandra's waist, wrapping her legs tightly around her. "_Hold me close," _Cassandra practically purred. "_Sway me more,"_ Shelby burrowed her head in Cassandra's neck before pulling herself back, dipping her head backwards so she could see Rachel's amused expression upside down, and then hopped down from Cassandra all in one swift movement.

Cass drew in a breath, trying not to blush as she continued. Shelby did the same.

"_Like a flower bending in the breeze, _

_ Bend with me," _Their hips were in synch, dangerously close to on another's.

"_Sway with ease. When we dance you have a way with me, stay with me, sway with me."_Shelby spun and Cass did the same, pulling her up into the air before acrobatically pulling her back down in what seemed like slow motion, ending by laying her on the floor. Cassandra expertly flipped over Shelby before landing on her knees, all before starting the next line.

"_Other dancers may be on the floor,_

_ Dear, but my eyes will see only you,"_Shelby took Cassandra softly by the neck, pulling her closer and pushing her away just as kindly and Cassandra pulled Shelby into a stand.

"_Only you have the magic technique,_" Shelby flicked her leg around Cassandra's; their skin brushing against each other, giving Cassandra goosebumps, which was appropriate for the next line. "_When we sway I go weak…" _With the next beat they were back together. When they danced together, the whole world disappeared. No one and nothing else mattered. It was just them. It was beautiful.

"_I can hear the sound of violins, long before it begins," _Cassandra continued, a little shakily. She winked at Shelby sexily as she sung the next line, _"Make me thrill as only you know how. Sway me smooth. Sway me now." _

Shelby did so, rocking her hips so that Cassandra's swayed along with her and Cassandra let out a gasp, trying to cover it before she kept going. But the damage was done, and everyone noticed her loss of profession. She continued on anyways, because the show must go on, and she didn't know if this was just an act from Shelby or if she really was forgiven.

_"Like a flower bending in the breeze, bend with me, sway with ease. When we dance you have a way with me, stay with me, sway with me,"_

The song ended and the girls took a bow before Cassandra ordered the rest of the class to start practicing the waltz—the next dance on the itinerary. They all gave her an awkward look and she knew she lost some authority with that gasp she let out. She cursed herself in her head before clapping her hands together. "NOW!"

They all jumped and did as they were told. Cassandra gave a satisfied smile, which was turned into a nervous grin when Shelby advanced towards her, pulling her into the corner of the room. "We need—to talk," she didn't sound angry this time, but like she was restraining herself from being angry.

"Am I in trouble?" Cassandra was only half joking.

"Are you afraid—of me?" Shelby had to ask with a slight smile on her lips. "You seem- pretty intimidated."

"Me? Intimidated? Corcoran, please."

Shelby gave her a look that said "Yeah, right." before continuing. "I'm not saying I completely forgive you…But I'm not—mad at you. I'm mad at—Will, but…I can't bring myself to be—mad at you. Not ever." She looked down at the floor, unsure how to continue. "But don't think this—means anything. I want to be single for a while. Alone."

Cassandra wouldn't even let the tears surface this time. She swallowed the huge lump in her throat. Why did Shelby have to reject her like this? She had nothing else to live for anymore…

"Okay," Cass whispered. "I understand."

"You do?"

"I'm not in love with the idea, but I get it, okay? Let's get back to the class."

Shelby nodded; feeling like the conversation went well.

Cassandra barked at a student, wanting to curl into a ball and cry.

Rachel watched the two of them depart from one another, with mixed emotions.

Will stood outside the door, watching through the little window, furious.


End file.
